Amotekun has come to stay - Lagos speaker declares as security outfit will now carry arms

Amotekun has come to stay - Lagos speaker declares as security outfit will now carry arms

- Operation Amotekun on Monday, February 24, received a boost from the Lagos state House of Assembly speaker

- A public hearing on a bill to establish the security outfit in Lagos state was held at the state Assembly

- The speaker during the public hearing announced that there is no going back on the bill

Mudashiru Obasa, the speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, declared that there is no going back on the Amotekun bill in the state.

The speaker made this declaration on Monday, February 24, at a public hearing on a bill to establish the security outfit in Lagos. At the time of filing this report, the public hearing had in attendance notable politicians, traditional rulers, Iba Gani Adams, Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land.

In a statement, made available to Legit.ng, it was noted that the bill is to be incorporated into an existing law which created the Neighbourhood Safety Corps in the state.

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Obasa said: "I'm sure we all recall the incidents before the establishment of Amotekun, the killings, maiming, kidnapping, and their likes. In the wisdom of our governors, they decided on Amotekun."

The speaker went on to note that the idea had resulted in various responses from Nigerians, some in favour of it and others against its establishment.

He also said in Lagos, the Neighbourhood Watch was put in place in 2016 and that some states have copied the idea thus making it important for it to be amended to accommodate Amotekun.

The speaker said the bill on Amotekun is to be accommodated in the existing law, adding: "Amotekun has come to stay and we must stand by it."

Amotekun has come to stay - Lagos speaker declares as security outfit will now carry arms
The Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa
Source: Facebook

He argued that the security outfit has been supported by over 40 million Yoruba people and this makes it important to the southwest.

Hon. Tunde Braimoh on his part said the protection of lives and property is the most important responsibility of government as stipulated in the constitution.

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Braimoh said the current exercise is not new but that it is an amendment to the Neighbourhood Safety law which has been in existence for some years.

The House majority leader, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, said Amotekun corps, as an outfit, would be depicted by the image of a leopard, an animal with the capacity to penetrate anywhere.

He said the outfit would perform the same functions as the Neighbourhood Safety Corps, but would be made to carry licensed arms subject to the approval of the police IG.

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Legit.ng previously reported that 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.

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.

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

Source: Legit.ng

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