INSECURITY: Ogun, Ondo approve Amotekun Bill
The Ogun State Executive Council has approved the proposal for the creation of the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun in the state.
The approval was given at the State Executive Council meeting held at the Executive Chamber of the governor’s office, Oke Mosan secretariat in Abeokuta.
The Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of the State, Adegbolahan Adeniran, told journalists at the end of the meeting approval was given after an extensive deliberation that lasted close to 10 hours and presided over by the governor.
He added that the presentation of the bill before the state council followed the earlier approval by the Attorney Generals and Commissioner of Justice of the six Southwest states.
He said further that the Amotekun Corp in Ogun State will be headed by a state Commandant adding that the bill also allows for collaborative efforts between the six Southwest states.
“We presented the bill for the creation of the Ogun State Security Network Agency or what many call the Amotekun Corp Bill of 2020.
“Today, the Executive Council of Ogun State met and adopted a draft as amended of a bill for a law to establish the Ogun State Security Network Agency. This agency is the agency that will comprise of the Amotekun Corp and this bill will be transmitted to the house of assembly before the end of this week,” he said.
Amotekun was launched by the governors of the Southwestern states in January 2020 but there was a need for legal backing for the outfit to be fully operational.
Similarly, the Ondo State government has approved the draft bill for the South-West security outfit code-named “Operation Amotekun”.
The Commissioner for Information and Orientation in the state, Mr Donald Ojogo, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
He explained that the bill was approved during the State Executive Council meeting which held at the Government House, Alagbaka in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Ojogo noted that the bill would be transmitted to the Ondo State House of Assembly for legislative scrutiny after which it would be passed into law.
“In an exhaustive session of deliberations, the Council took time to peruse every detail contained in the bill that was presented by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Kola Olawoye (SAN), and now ready to be transmitted to the State House of Assembly for passage.
“The Draft Bill has six Parts and 44 sections. It is also gratifying to disclose that every apprehension or fears expressed have been adequately looked into.
“This is even as traditional rulers will now have roles to play in the operations of the security outfit pursuant to its passage into law by the State Assembly,” the statement read.
According to the commissioner, the government finds it pertinent to reiterate that the initiative is aimed at complementing the efforts of the nation’s security agencies.
He, therefore, encouraged the people of the state to take advantage of the opportunity to join the efforts towards ensuring a peaceful state.
– Channels TV.
