The Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, on Thursday declared that the Western Nigeria Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, is effectively filling the vacuum created by the “overstretched conventional security agencies, particularly the police in the state.”
This is as he noted that Amotekun Corps is a product of circumstance which is essentially created to fill the obvious security gap in the state for the security of all, adding that it has brought relative peace to the state.
According to a statement on his Facebook page, Akeredolu said this when he played host to the participants of Course 30 of the National Defence College, Abuja, led by the Commandant, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s office.
The statement said Akeredolu who particularly commended the military for ensuring peace and security in the country, equally disclosed that his administration has enjoined necessary support and cooperation from all heads of security agencies in the state including the Army, Police, NSCDC, DSS, NIA and others.
“So, we must make sure we tackle it. You kidnap to the extent that you killed a first class monarch; this is very bad. As a government, we owe it a duty to secure the lives and property of our people,” he emphasised.
According to the statement, “The Governor insisted that no genuine herders would graze his herds of cow with AK-47, just as he said any herder who destroys any farmland in the state would be made to pay compensation to the affected farmer. He also added that Amotekun Corps is now engaging in road patrol to further ensure the security of lives and property of all residents across the state. “Governor Akeredolu also said many states in the country have signed Anti-Open Grazing laws to protect the people and their means of livelihood, just as he insisted that the issue of grazing routes would not work in the country because the country can no longer continue to live in the past. He stressed that the country needed a multi-levelled policing with special attention to state police to effectively secure the lives and property of the citizens. Earlier, the Commandant, National Defence College, Abuja, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji, who lauded the Governor for his security and industrial strides recorded so far, expressed confidence that the products of the participants’ research would go a long way to assist in policy inputs towards delivery of good governance and ensure security of the state.He particularly applauded the Governor for the way he handled the issue of farmers/herders clashes in the state to ensure peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders