Amotekun: Walking on tight rope?

Recent developments surrounding the Western Nigeria Security Network code-named Amotekun has called to question whether the corps is towing the path of its mandate. BAYO AGBOOLA reports from Ibadan.

Apparently disturbed by the increasing spate of insecurity in the South-west region of the country, governors in the six states in the region came together in January 2020 in Ibadan to launch a joint security outfit for their respective states codenamed ‘Western Nigeria Security Network’ (WNSN) otherwise known as Amotekun Corps to, among others, secure the region as a whole and on individual state basis to put an end to the increasing spate of kidnapping and other forms of crimes and criminaliities alien to the region.
Oyo state on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 joined other South-west states of Ondo and Osun with the official inauguration of its own arm of the Western Nigeria Security Network, (WNSN) Amotekun Corps as Governor Seyi Makinde on that day officially inaugurated the corps at a colourful passing out for its newly recruited 1,500 personnel.

Spelling out the mandate

At the inauguration/passing-out parade of the 1,500 pioneer Amotekun Corps held at the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo, Governor Makinde stressed that the corps though an independent outfit would have its member answerable to the state governors that would be working with the federal security agencies. The governor then spelt out the expected roles of the corps members in the state as collaborating with and assisting the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies in gathering information, the investigation of crime, arrest, and prosecution of persons suspected of kidnapping, terrorism, destruction of livelihood, criminal damage to property, cultism, highway robbery, and any other illegal activities. Be involved in routine day and night patrols on major roads and remote areas.
Governor Makinde pointed out that, “Members of Amotekun corps would be drafted to all the 351 wards in the state and they would be our own community police so that their presence would be felt everywhere. This would ensure that offenders are quickly identified, arrested, registered and promptly handed over to the nearest police station or post.”


Speaking further he said, “As I said during one of my speeches following the End SARS protests, this is one outfit that I can boldly say, hold me responsible for the actions of the members.”

Recent developments

Since Amotekun commences operations in Oyo, it has no doubt made its presence felt positively in some parts of the state especially in the Oke Ogun area of the state where members of the corps together with other local hunters and vigilante groups successfully rooted out particularly towards the end of last year when the Amotekun men arrested ten suspected robbers and hoodlums in Ibadan axis of the state.

Oyo commandant speaks

According to the state Commandant of Amotekun Corps, Colonel Olayinka Olayanju (rtd), “l activated all the Amotekun Corps to patrol all the city of Oyo because the hoodlums always block the roads extorting the people. I led the Oyo West Team and these hoodlums were accosted and handed over to the Police at Ojongbodu Division namely Ibrahim Kamal, Samsideen Jelili, Hakeem Ayinde, Salam Ojo. Three suspect were also arrested by Amotekun Ibadan North West patrol team when trying to rob at Sabo area in Ibadan around 5am in the morning of 31-12-2021 and were caught with dangerous weapon.


Amotekun no doubt within its three months of existence has in many aspects in the area of security been up to the task going by its effectiveness in curbing crime rates in places like Ibadan where hoodlums are on the prowl with the near absence of men of the Oyo state police command. It is of note that the presence of men of Amotekun Corps curtailed the excesses of hoodlums in the notorious areas of Beere, Oje, Gate, Molete, Bode, Odo osun, Labiran beere, Esu Awele, Ileba, Oja Oba, Alagolo, Lion base, Omiyale, Kobomoje, Ita ege, Eleta, Agbongbon, Tewogbade, Arapaja, Isale Ijebu, Sogoye, Akobi, Popo, Asuni, and Bonfoto area where looting by the hoodlums has been the norms until the birth of Amotekun in the state.

Some negative occurrences

However, the lofty roles of Amotekun corps in the state were without some negative occurrences, tendencies or excesses linked in one way or the other with the corps. This ranged from indiscriminate shooting/arrest of some suspected armed robbers with gun in Oyo town. These were said to be a students by some sections in the state with the Amotekun insisting that those arrested were armed robbers and not students. Days after this, it was a case of an Amotekun personnel mistakenly shooting a police constabulary constable in Oyo township when security agencies including men of the Nigeria Police Force were trying to stop a carnival organised in the town in defiance to the government order banning staging of carnivals in and across Oyo state.


According to Colonel Olayinka (rtd) the shooting of the police constabulary constable, Fatai Yekini, by an Amotekun personnel, Ibrahim Ogundele, was not intentional adding that the incident occurred when Amotekun Corps were invited by the police to join them in dismantling a carnival stage which the police had warned against.


Col Olayanju said it was in the process that the Amotekun officer’s gun accidentally discharged itself and the bullet hit the policeman on the thigh, stressing that, “Amotekun operatives were invited by the police to join hands with them to dismantle a carnival stage.

The carnival was held against the earlier warnings to the organisers by the police.The carnival stage was dismantled unchallenged. But after this, the gun with Ogundele Ibrahim discharged accidentally and hit the community police officer on the thigh. The cause of this discharge has not been known. Fatai was rushed to the General Hospital in Oyo town where he was treated and discharged.‌ I want to state categorically here that there was no feud of any kind between Ogundele Ibrahim and Yekini Fatai to warrant shooting him.”


Another ugly incident reared its head for the Amotekun corps on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 in Tapa town in Ibarapa North local government area of Oyo state during a bloody clash that erupted over staging of a carnival by some youths together with the suspected hoodlums in the town and the Amotekun corps which resulted in the killing of two persons with seven others injured.


According to Amotekun Corps in a statement by its media officer, Ayolola Adedoja, the Tapa unrest broke our when Amotekun operatives were on a distress call of an attempted kidnap of a woman along Igangan axis of Ibarapa North local government with some boys organising a carnival at the area blocking the road where the operatives were supposed to pass and were pleading with the organisers of the carnival to allowed them pass but the organisers refused them access to pass the road.”


The media officer stressed that argument ensued between them which degenerated into a fracas that resulted in the boys shooting at Amotekun Operatives and the operatives returning the fire leading to the death of a boy from Tapa while a stray bullet hit another boy from Aiyete, adding that the irate boys therefore took to the street and damaged lots of public property.


Following incessant clashes between some sections of people and Amotekun Corps, Governor Makinde on just recently vowed to deal with erring personels of the corps found wanting in the alleged high-handedness levelled against some of them.


“One of the strategies we are using to check insecurity in the state is the recently introduced Western Nigeria Security Network (Amotekun). I am fully aware of the alleged high handedness by some members of the corps. We are investigating these issues to address them promptly. The welfare and security of the good people of Oyo state remain our top priority. We would not sit back and watch any harassment or intimidation of members of the public or our security officers.”


As all hands are now on the deck while Governor Makinde is investigating the alleged high handedness of some of the Amotekun Corps, it is necessary that the people of the state embrace and give full support to the security outfit.

Leave a Reply