Amotekun: IGP, southwest governors finally agree on new security outfit

Amotekun: IGP, southwest governors finally agree on new security outfit

- The establishment of Operation Amotekun on Thursday, February 13, received a boost

- Southwest governors and other stakeholders met in Lagos to deliberate on the new security initiative

- IGP Adamu said that every state right has one form of security outfit or the other working with security agencies to fight crime

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, and the six southwest governors under the aegis of southwest governors forum on Thursday, February 13, agreed on Amotekun created by the governors in the region.

The Nation reports that this was the outcome of the stakeholders’ summit on community policing involving the IG, the governors, commissioners of police as well as commissioner for justice from the six states in the region, other security agencies in the state, royal fathers, community development committees and other stakeholders at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja.

Legit.ng gathered that the chairman of the southwest governors' forum, Rotimi Akeredolu, and Adamu, who addressed reporters at the end of the closed-door deliberations, identified Amotekun as a community policing strategy to tackle crime in the region.

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But they stated the outfit is not a regional but community initiative.

Akeredolu said: “It is clear that community policing which the Nigeria police is anchoring is one that will benefit all of us from the ward up to the state level.”

He, however, said that Amotekun is not regional police stating: “We have made things clear to everybody and we want all of us to know now that when we said we are having Amotekun, it is not that we are creating regional police, Amotekun is not regional police.

“Amotekun is state-based because we don’t have regions in the country anyway. We only have states and all of us have agreed that when you have laws in your respective states backing Amotekun or any security outfit, then you can go ahead for as long as it is within the legal bound.

Adamu corroborated every state right has one form of security outfit or the other working with security agencies to fight crime, adding community policing is infused into all the existing states’ security structures.

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The IGP said: “Amotekun is not a regional security outfit, as it is existing now every state has one form of the outfit, whether it is vigilante or neighbourhood watch, that are working with security agencies of the state to fight crimes.

“This area must be clarified. It is not a regional structure, it is a state structure and it must be backed by law for it to be effective so we are saying the same thing, the structure must be in tandem with community policing.”

Asked whether the police would be involved in the training, deployment, and payment of salaries of operatives of Amotekun, Adamu said community policing is nothing but a partnership.

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He explained whatever structure is in place must be in partnership with the police to deal with problems that are associated with crimes and criminality.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that a security summit slated to hold between the southeast governors and the IGP Adamu, on Wednesday, February 12, was almost disrupted.

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Operation Amotekun: Should it be replicated in other regions? Nigerians react | - on Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng

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