Ondo monarchs urge South-West governors to kick-start Operation Amotekun, as speakers vow to provide legislative support

Traditional rulers in Ondo State, under the aegis of “De 130 Krown Obas”, have called on South-West governors to ignore negative comments about “Operation Amotekun” and conclude necessary arrangements for the immediate take-off of the security outfit in the six states of the zone.
The monarchs, who spoke through their state President, the Owa-Ale of Ikare-Akoko, Oba Kolapo Adegbite-Adedoyin, made the calls while briefing newsmen after their monthly meeting, held in Akure on Friday.
The traditional rulers also enjoined the Federal Government to support the Southwest governors to achieve the set goals of Operation Amotekun.
According to the monarch, it is only when the security outfit is allowed to function effectively that traditional rulers and their subjects can be able to sleep with their two eyes closed.
He said that the security outfit must be supported to end the rampant kidnappings, banditry, senseless killings and other crimes in the zone.
“We, as executive and members of “De 130 Krowns Club of Ondo State”, are the main stakeholders in the spate of armed robbery, kidnappings, banditry, killings by slaughtering and so on, and this “epidemic” is affecting our subjects.
“We do solemnly declare our support for “Operation Amotekun” to counter all these ungodly and inhuman acts of self-destruction.
“The personnel of “Amotekun’ are our native hunters and all who know and understand the terrain of their own localities. What is wrong in watching over ourselves?
“We plead with our governor to do this quickly and “Amotekun” should start operation immediately so as to relieve us, the traditional rulers, particularly in Ondo State, of act of losing our kinsmen and their properties on daily basis,” the monarchs said.
They urged other zones in the country to translate Amotekun into their own respective languages and set up similar security outfits to complement the existing government’s security agencies.
“Amotekun, which means leopard, can be translated into Hausa, Igbo, Urhobo, Efik and other languages. What is important is the function it plays in our security arrangement.
“We plead with our politicians, who are from other zones not to see this outfit as a political body, but as supplementary efforts to the Federal Government’s laudable efforts to protect the lives of innocent Nigerians in the Southwest,” the royal fathers said.
Meanwhile, Speakers of Houses of Assembly in the South West Zone have pledged to provide legislative support for Amotekun, the security initiative conceived by governors in the region.
The Speakers made the pledge in a communique issued on Friday by the Chairman, Conference of Speakers of South West States Legislature, Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun.
The communique was issued at the end of a one-day security summit of the speakers.
The summit had as theme, “The imperative of Western Nigerian Security Network (Operation Amotekun): Legislative Support for the Initiative.”
The speakers, according to the communique, expressed support for Amotekun, saying it would go a long way in curbing the worrisome security problems facing the region
“The establishment of the security outfit in the South West is in tandem with the constitution, which makes the protection of lives and properties a matter of priority for any responsible government.
“The Operation Amotekun is a welcome development, especially in the spirit of existing community policing laws in the South West states.
“We have collectively resolved that the issue of security as it is in the region especially, and the country as a whole, can no longer continue to be handled with kid’s glove.
” As legislators, we must do our bit to complement the efforts of our governors through legislations that will give legal strength to the security force,” Oleyelogun said.
Mr Adebo Ogundoyin (Oyo State), Mr Funminiyi Afuye(Ekiti), Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun(Ondo), Taiwo Oluomo(Ogun), Mr Timothy Owoeye(Osun) and Mr Mudashiru Obasa (Lagos) attended the speakers’ conference.