Amotekun: No Recruitment Has Been Made Yet – Osun Governor

Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, on Wednesday, said no one has been recruited yet into the South West security network known as Amotekun, contrary to general belief.

Oyetola disclosed this in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Ismail Omipidan, in Osogbo the state’s capital.

The governor welcomed the debate surrounding the launch of Amotekun as a healthy one but cautioned that criticizing the security outfit along religion and ethnicity lines was dangerous and counter- productive.

Oyetola described Amotekun as a collective response by the South-West zone to curbe armed banditry, rape, kidnappings and other violent crimes in the region.

He also denied that the outfit was an agenda against a particular faith or ethnic group in the country.

Oyetola said, “For the records, no recruitment has been carried out so far, especially in our dear Osun State.

“Therefore, we should not constitute ourselves into opposing a project we all clamoured for in response to existential threats for which some of the governors in the region have been called out and vilified in the past.

“Rather, we should rally support for Amotekun by coming up with strategies to fine-tune it with a view to bridging any communication gap between the Federal Government and the South-West governors over the security outfit.

“Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is clear that the security of lives and property of citizens as well as their welfare is the primary purpose and responsibility of government, be it state or federal”, the governor said.

Oyetola expressed his administration’s commitment to protecting the citizens, adding that every reasonable and responsible individual in the state must join the government’s collective resolve to protect the lives and property of the citizens.