The dust raised over the federal government’s declaration of the South West governors’ new security outfit, code named Operation Amotekun, as illegal and unconstitutional seems to be settling down with a recent truce between the parties.
Governors of the region through the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), had on January 9, 2020 launched Amotekun, a joint security outfit aimed at addressing the numerous security challenges bedeviling the region which. This is the fallout of inability of the existing Federal Government owned conventional security agencies to address the challenges.
Soon after its launch in Ibadan, Amotekun’s acceptance and popularity spread like a wildfire among the residents of the six South West states and beyond becoming the major issue of public debate in the political landscape of Nigeria. This is because the governors and the people of the region, for the first time in recent years, came together as one sinking their political, religious and other primordial differences to push for Amotekun.
However, the enthusiasm and euphoria that greeted the launch of Amotekun seemed to be hitting the rocks when the Federal Government, through the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, AbubakarMalami, declared the security outfit as illegal and unconstitutional suggesting that the outfit should die on arrival. This pronouncement sparked off sharp criticisms from the proponents of Amotekun and the general public across the divide taking the governors initiative to a high level of controversy and public debate.
Many who threw their weight behind the scheme argued that an initiative meant to address the wanton killings and serious security breaches in the country should not be slaughtered on the altar of legality. Others who equally defended the scheme further argued that Amotekun can be accommodated within the existing legal provisions like the forest guard law or a new legislation by the Houses of Assembly of the affected states. But those who shared the federal government’s view of illegality advised that there was no justification for Amotekun within the ambit of the law and the constitution and as such, it was illegal and nothing more.
The controversy and fireworks between the Federal Government and the governors over Amotekun finally secured an amicable resolution following a truce after a meeting between the parties last Thursday. A meeting, at the instance of the governors, was held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo having in attendance the governors, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami as well as the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu.
The governors of the South-West states and the Federal Government at the meeting reportedly reached a middle ground on Operation Amotekun, as both settled for a legal framework and asked the states to enact laws to legalise its operation, thus bringing the controversy to an end.
We therefore commend the governors and the Federal Government for opting for a solution through dialogue rather than taking the controversy too far to the level of causing constitutional crisis in the country. The Federal Government’s decision to shift grounds, advising the states to bring up legislation in favour of the outfit and the governors’ diplomatic mode of addressing the impasse are highly commendable.
Now that the controversy seems to be over, We call on the governors of the South West states and other stakeholders to quickly swing into action and do the needful. The Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has said the region’s security outfit, Operation Amotekun, would kick off any moment from now.
This pronouncement must be translated into concrete steps immediately. Specifically, we call on the governors to propose a bill on Amotekun to their respective Houses of Assembly without delay while the legislators should give it urgent but thorough scrutiny for the purpose of enacting a lawn that will stand the test of time.
We also call on the initiators of Amotekun to fashion out an operational framework that will be devoid of politics to achieve its aims and objectives. Thus, the process of recruitment, funding and logistics should be well articulated. In short, the activities of the personnel to run the outfit must be streamlined and well-articulated in the proposed legislation to make it complement and not compete with the existing security agencies. We are of strong opinion that any step that will guarantee safety of lives and property of citizens both in the urban, rural and in the forests, like Amotekun, is worth giving a trial.
The Hope
