Akeredolu Reveals Why Operation Amotekun Was Established

The Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum and Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, has spoken up on which non-Yoruba ethnic group the regional security outfit, Operation Amotekun, was targeted at and why the southwest governors established the security outfit without the support of the Federal Government.

According to Akeredolu, on Sunday the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), codenamed Operation Amotekun has nothing to do with ethnicity, neither is it targeted at any non-Yoruba ethnic group.

Akeredolu, who stated this in a statement in Akure by the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Donald Ojogo, said discourse on Operation Amotekun should not be given an ethnic colouration. He also reiterated that the security outfit was to complement the efforts of the conventional internal security agencies.

He warned people against making divisive statements or utterances that were capable of compromising the genuine intentions of the South-West governors.

He said, “Amotekun, when fully operational, will serve the purposes of local information and intelligence gathering for processing and usage by the conventional security agencies. Amotekun is, therefore, merely supportive and not a replacement for the nation’s security agencies. “The concerns expressed by individuals, agencies of government and several stakeholders are noted without bias. Where possible, the inexorable efforts of the South-West governors will be deepened through the relentless interface.

Akeredolu also expressed confidence that the South-West governors would not submit to blackmail either from within or outside the region, insisting that the governors were ready” to pursue the Amotekun security scheme through all permissible political and legal means.”