The Presidency has summoned the six Southwest governors to a meeting at Aso Rock over the launching of the regional security outfit codenamed Amotekun, Newspeakonline can confirm.
The summon came barely 24 hours before the launching of the security agency which has been drawing huge applause from thousands of Nigerians, especially those of Southwest origin. It is billed for launching in Ibadan, Oyo State by the six governors in Southwest on Thursday January 9. The launching will be presided over by Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu who is the Chairman, Southwest Governors’ Forum.
Newspeakonline reliably gathered that the presidency asked the six governors to attend a meeting at Aso Rock Wednesday evening to discuss the details of Amotekun and why it should be allowed to fly.
The outfit is a local collaborative security agency jointly established by Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states. Its idea generated from a security summit organized by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission in July at the wake of heightened kidnapping and armed robbery mostly on highways in the region.
Its personnel will include members of the vigilante group in each state, security experts and conventional security agencies including the police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). They are to gather intelligence and effect arrest where relevant, with the overall goal of improving security in the region.
But Newspeakonline can report authoritatively that the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has been uncomfortable with inclusion of unconventional security personnel in the agency in spite of the fact that the Commissioner of Police in each state will oversee the activities of the outfit since it is the only agency legally empowered to arrest and prosecute.
