Governors in the six South-West states have been urged to be decisive towards tackling criminal elements and their activities in the region by investing heavily in the local and grassroots policing for a safe society.
The chairman, Council of Amotekun Corps Commanders in the South-West, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye gave the charge while admonishing the governors to back and adopt the proposed establishment of the state police as a measure to addressing insecurity in the region and the country at large.
Adeleye who is the commander of Amotekun Corps in Ondo State, commended the six governors for their supports for the South West Security Network and solicited the cooperation of stakeholders, especially traditional rulers and the people by volunteering timely information on suspicious activities in their communities.
Adeleye spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital while delivering a lecture, titled ‘Breaking the Barriers to a Secured Society’ organised by the Ekiti State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) in conjunction with the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, South West and the State Bureau of Local Content.
The Amotekun boss admitted the effectiveness of conventional security agencies in securing the country but decried that bureaucratic bottlenecks and other factors have limited their performances.
“The issue of insecurity in Nigeria is a serious problem now and the solution is grassroots policing which is state policing. The bureaucracy with the existing security arrangements is so wide that by the time instructions come from the high and mighty, the criminals are gone.
“The South West governors should endeavor to empower our own home-grown security which is Amotekun to complement the efforts of the modern security agencies.
“Community policing is the panacea to resolving security challenges. Managing local information and intelligence is very key. If we go grassroots, there will be no hidden place for criminals, and I believe with this, the social economic life of our people will be enhanced,” the Amotekun Commander said.
Adeleye added that the Amotekun concept was based on a homegrown and bottom-up approach to crime management as against the imported and top-down approach of the current security architecture of the country which has been adjudged inadequate and unresponsive for a multi-ethnic, Federal Structure and vast geographical entity like Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, Ekiti State governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji explained that his administration in the last one and half years, has invested in the security network in the state with constant engagements and provision of necessary operational equipment.
The governor who was represented by his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Brig.-Gen. Ebenezer Ogundana (retd), lamented the recent security breaches in the state over the killings of two traditional rulers, saying the state security architecture has been rejigged for effective crime control and prevention.
Governor Oyebanji disclosed that a security committee has been set up with neighbouring states to provide a blueprint that would enhance joint border patrols and intelligence sharing.
The NUJ chairman in Ekiti State, Kayode Babatuyi said the event became necessary to collate suggestions and ideas in support government and security agencies in a bid to rid the state of criminal elements.
“For us at Ekiti NUJ, we believe in the Ekiti project, hence the need to come up with this programme to brainstorm and resolve on how to make our dear state a pride of place as far as security is concerned,” Babatuyi said.
