It’s unfortunate. The first point of resistance against the armed robbers should have been the police which is controlled by the Nigerian Federal Government. The police failed us again.
Amotekun is a very good initiative. Kudos to the initiators. Amotekun in Ekiti and South West have carried out many successful operations in the past at great risks. They have arrested criminals and even terrorists hideouts they have raided and made arrests.
I can’t imagine the South West without Amotekun.
Amotekun response to Ikere robbery must have been informed by police failure to promptly addtess distress calls.
May God bless the soul of the courageous Amotekun men who fought gallantly but died in defence of Fatherland.
Amotekun by Nigerian law cannot carry sophisticated weapons. Only police and Army can. The two victims during the Ikere robbery are casualties of the Nigerian defective and callous unitary and garrison state which successive governments have refused to address since 1999 despite two National Conferences that gulped billions of publics and recommendations were made for State Police but ignored by the same people that set up the Conferences
We hope the current Federal Government will be bold enough to restructure the country and allow local policing whereby local authorities can effectively arm Amotekun to be able to deal with increasingly sophisticated armed bandits possibly raiding banks for money to procure more arms.
We call on responsible community leaders to work with their towns and villages to create community intelligence and community security outfits at this critical moment.
The protection of human lives in Yoruba long tested tradition is the responsibility of traditional institutions and the communities themselves. We may need to explore this option to collaborate with existing Government efforts.
This is necessary to fill the gap created by lapses associated with the Nigerian security architecture where security of lives and property from armed bandits is largely in the hands of a garrison Federal Government.
Communities should create funds and local Vigilante to protect their Communities. This is not a strange practice across the world. We must be creative in addressing security challenges to safe our people from peril of today and that of the future.
May the souls of the Amotekun Corps rest in peace. Amin
