Operatives of the Ekiti State Security Network otherwise called Amotekun Corps have expressed worry over lack of equipment required for their effective operation.
The Amotekun corps lamented that lack of operational equipment, funding, poor welfare and communication gadgets are major challenges limiting their operations.
One of the corps members who spoke on condition of anonymity said Amotekun could do far better than it is doing if it was sufficiently empowered with the right equipment and gadgets, funds, requisite training and better welfare package.
He decried the fact that Amotekun formations in some of the local government areas lack operational vehicles, adding that most of the giant strides recorded were made out of personal sacrifices and commitments of the officers.
He said, “We are always battle-ready to face all kinds of situations that demand our calling, but are often frustrated because we lack equipment required to perform optimally.
He said every officer commissioned into the corps was fully aware of his job description of ensuring security of lives and property of the citizenry but wondered how they would accomplish such in the absence of the right funding and equipment.
“How do you access a thick forest or kidnappers’ den when you don’t have motorcycles, or good guns to face these miscreants?
“If an officer is in the bush for instance, he can only be reached through phone and in the case of no network, he is on his own, but with some modern day gadgets, you can track and locate any criminal and communicate with officers on the field easily. We are left to face criminals with our bear chest and this is not the best”, he added.
Reacting, a retired military officer, Mr. Abayomi Ademiluyi, appealed to Governor Biodun Oyebanji to provide necessary logistics to Amotekun to strengthen its operational capacity for effective performance.
Ademiluyi who acknowledged the major breakthrough recorded by the Amotekun, admonished the government to take a cue from Ondo and Oyo State governments, added that much more still needed to be done to enable the corps meet up with its existential mandate.
