Western Nigeria Security Network: Police stop rally in Lagos, as protesters shout ‘Scrap Amotekun, scrap Nigeria, every Yoruba is Amotekun’

The Lagos State Police Command, on Tuesday, cordoned off the popular Gani Fawehinmi Park, at Ojota in Lagos State to stop the pro-Amotekun rally by some groups.
The groups were protesting the planned attempt by the Federal Government to stop operations of the recently inaugurated South-West security outfit.
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, however, declined commenting on the development.
Meanwhile, Mr Kunle Adesokan, Head of Security, Yoruba World Congress (YWC), says the establishment of the Western Nigerian Security Network, codenamed Amotekun, is to curb crime in Yorubaland.
Adesokan made the clarification on Tuesday during a solidarity rally held by YWC and other groups in Ibadan, in support of the Amotekun initiative by the Southwest governors.
He said that the solidarity rally was to assure the Southwest governors that the entire Yoruba people were in support of the security outfit, insisting that there was no going back.
“We will not allow the foreigners to come into our land again to kill us unnecessarily; we are tired of bloodletting.
“Nigeria is for us all, not for a certain section of people; we accommodate people from other ethnic background in our land to carry out their trade, commerce and other things but we will allow anyone to perpetrate crime here,” he said.
Adesokan urged Governor Seyi Makinde and other South-West governors to keep on working on the actualisation of Amotekun, noting that their efforts would enhance adequate security of lives and property in the zone.
Scores of members of YWC’s affiliate bodies were present at the Government House arcade, Ibadan, venue of the rally.
The organisations which participated at the rally included Agbekoya, Odua People’s Congress (OPC), Atayese Group, Yoruba Reconciliation, Majiyagbe Group and Kaaro Ojiire Group, among others
Personnel of the Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were on ground to maintain law and order.
In Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, the solidarity rally in support of “Operation Amotekun”, held.
At Panseke area of Abeokuta, members of various Yoruba groups attended the rally, which started around 12.30 pm.
The groups included Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Yoruba World Congress (YWC), Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide (YCYW) and the National Association Nigerian Students (NANS).
Some of the protesters were seen carrying placards bearing inscriptions such as: “No Amotekun, No Hisbah!”, “Scrap Amotekun, scrap Nigeria”, “Every Yoruba is Amotekun” and “Amotekun is here” and “An end has come to our sufferings” among others.

Personnel from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), led by the Commissioner of Police, Kenneth Ebrimson, and other security agencies like the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were on ground at the rally.
The Coordinator of the rally in Ogun, Mr Jimoh Taofeek, in his address, described the outfit as complimentary to the existing security agencies in the zone.
“Amotekun is not meant victimise any individual but to protect lives and property, while complementing the efforts of security agencies.
“We are here to reach out to the larger public and to tell the Federal Government and the entire Nigerian populace that we want “Amotekun” in the South-West zone of Nigeria.
‘ If Hisbah and other vigilante groups can be in the northern states, with some of them carrying arms and arresting people, there is no reason for not considering “Amotekun” in the South-West.
“Besides, I want to make it very clear that the security outfit is not to witch-hunt anybody whatsoever,” he said.
Taofeek argued that one of the major responsibilities of government was to protect lives and property of the citizens, adding that the Federal Government ought to have commended the South-West governors for complementing security agencies rather than condemning “Amotekun”.