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…Prosecutes 2000 criminals, secures 1500 court verdicts in 2 years
By Tayo ABIOLA
A call has been made for the conversion of the South west states security outfit codenamed Amotekun to be converted into state police for more effectiveness.
The Chairman of the security outfit in Ondo State, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, made the call in Akure, the Ondo state capital while reviewing the performance of Amotekun in the state.
The chairman said that Amotekun will function more effectively if converted to state police.
Adeleye, however, commended the level of synergy among the Amotekun Corps within the South West, noting that the smooth collaboration has further strengthened the security architecture in the region.
“Truth be told, the security situation in the state is improving and it will continue to improve.
“At the time we came on board, you will agree with me that it was difficult for people to move freely without being robbed but this has become a thing of the past.
“Again, for farmers/herders clashes, we used to have close to 5,000 petitions per month it is now between 10 and 20 petitions per month.
“There is a serious reduction, though we still have one or two cases. All these successes are attributed to the exploits of Amotekun Corps in collaboration with other security agencies.”
Justifying the need for state police, Adeleye said that “the emplacement of state police would bring a lasting solution to the menace of insecurity in the country generally.
“The solution to grassroots security in Nigeria is state police, anything short of that, we will only continue to merry-go-round without making any specific progress in the security sector.
“The fact remains that it will be difficult for a policeman who is from Jigawa State to navigate the terrain here effectively when pursuing criminals but an indigene will be able to do that.
“The fact that we have the grassroots intelligence and network is an advantage that cannot be overlooked. Hence, state police are the panacea to bring to an end criminal activities around us.”
According to Adeleye, Ondo Amotekun prosecuted over 2000 criminals and secured court judgements in over 1500 cases within two years.
He submitted, “In the last two years, we have prosecuted over 2,000 criminals and we have secured judgements in favour of government for not less than 1,500 criminal charges.
“We built Amotekun Court to support the judiciary when the turn out of criminals per day outweighed what the judiciary had facilities for.
“As we speak, there are many who have been prosecuted by Amotekun and the office of the Attorney-General of Ondo State”
On the continuous attacks in Ose and Akoko areas of the state, Adeleye said that security posts will be mounted in the areas.
According to him, the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has approved the siting of the security posts along the waterline in the Arimogija axis and Akoko area and it will become operational soon.
The chairman said by the time they become fully operational, “we expect a reasonable level of respite. The recurring breaches of security at the Ose axis of the State will soon become a thing of the past.
He However, said that ” We still have some challenges in the Ose axis. We have done several clearance operations there, and most of the time, the Amotekun corps is accompanied by the military and other security agencies, but in most cases, these criminal elements only wait for us to go, after which they will cross the river and return.”
Adeleye assured that the security outfit is on top of the situation.
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