Security of lives and properties has always been a paramount function of any government in power at the federal, state and local government levels of administration. The inauguration of the South-West multi-purpose security outfit codenamed “Operation Amotekun” designed to tackle kidnapping, banditry and other criminalities in the South-West region of Nigeria on January 9, 2020 in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital by the joint effort of the six South-West governors: Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Rotimi Akeredolu, Ondo State, Seyi Makinde, Oyo State, Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State, Adegboya Oyetola, Osun State, and Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, was truly a germane step in the fight against insecurity.

Reports of widespread heinous crimes across various regions of the country, such as the Global Terrorism Index, which estimated that 1,700 persons were killed by herdsmen in 2018 alone; the findings of West Africa Insight magazine showing that in Benue State, over 23,000 persons were displaced across 14 local government areas between 2014 and 2016; and 65 persons killed while 9,000 were displaced in Jalingo, the Taraba State Capital, between May and June 2019, among others, indicating a growing trend of insecurity across the country.

In Katsina, the State Government was forced, only recently, to negotiate with cattle rustlers and bandits to lay down their AK-47 rifles in exchange for amnesty. From Abia to Sokoto and from Rivers to Zamfara, the nation has been gripped by the terror of criminal gangs, who having overwhelmed ordinary citizens, have made no secret of their intention to overwhelm the State and its agencies. In the face of these incessant and rising wave of crime and criminality, the launch of “Operation Amotekun” (Yoruba for ‘Leopard’), an initiative that would been a sigh of relief for our embattled and largely stressed out security agencies and the Federal Government was declared illegal by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

Perhaps, expressing the unacceptability of the launch of the South-West security outfit by the Presidency, Malami, in a press statement had said: “The setting up of the paramilitary organization called ‘Amotekun’ is illegal and runs contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian Law. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) has established the Army, Navy, Air Force, including the Police and other numerous paramilitary organizations for the purpose of the defence of Nigeria. As a consequence of this, no State Government whether singly or in a group, has the legal right and competence to establish any form of organization or agency for the defence of Nigeria or any of its constituent parts.”

“This is sanctioned by the provision of Item 45 of the second schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) authorizing the police and other Federal Government security services established by law to maintain law and order. The law will take its natural course in relation to excesses associated with organization, administration and participation in ‘Amotekun’ or continuous association with it as an association.”

“Matters relating to the peace, order and good government of the Federation and in particular, the defence of the country, are enshrined in the exclusive legislative list. The second schedule in item 17 deals with defence. This is a matter within the exclusive operational competence of the Federal Government of Nigeria. No other authority at the State level, whether the executive or legislature has the legal authority over defence.”

This position by the AGF somehow threw up questions as to the legality of the existence of ‘Hisbah’ in Kano, a religious police force established to assist the security agencies in Kano in crime fighting; the Zamfara community policing outfit, among others. Those interrogating the Federal Government’s stance on the best strategies to adopt for the protection of lives of her citizens also asked if some sections of the country were more privileged than others.

Though, in a swift about-face, owing to the widespread outrage that greeted his expressed position, Malami denied declaring ‘Amotekun’ illegal, asserting that he was quoted out of context. He explained that he only highlighted the futility of such venture if it was not backed by a legal framework instated by the respective State Houses of Assembly as a new administration that was averse to the ideals of such an initiative would ordinarily sweep it aside.

Reacting to the statement of the Attorney General, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe said that “the position of the Federal Government suggests that some sections of the country are more equal than others”. A former Military Administrator of Akwa Ibom State, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga faulted the Federal Government for declaring ‘Amotekun’ illegal, saying that the government could not address the killings and other security challenges in the country. Nkanga, who is also the National Chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), said that “we believe Amotekun is the best thing that could happen to a country where people are groaning under insecurity”.

In the same vein, Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Fayemi Kayode, speaking at the Daily Trust Dialogue with the theme “Twenty Years of Democratization in Nigeria: Strengths, Weaknesses and Opportunities”, defined the establishment of ‘Amotekun’ as being in line with community policing or multi-layered policing, which is very effective in safety and crime prevention. Dr. Fayemi insisted that the police authorities were involved in the setting up of the ‘Amotekun’ security outfit, saying the promoters of the project – South-West Governors – had made it clear that it was in response to the security challenges being faced in the zone and it was designed to complement efforts of the established security agencies.

In his words: “The Amotekun vision is a logical end-product of President Buhari’s compelling vision on community policing and bottom-up approach to security sector governance across the length and breadth of the country. Far from being a competitor with the existing national security platforms, it aims to complement them in the areas of neighbourhood watch, information and intelligence gathering, detection of early warning signs and engaging in early response in a proactive manner, apart from acting as a liaison between the conventional security outfits and the local population.”

“For those who are familiar with the mechanism of security sector reforms and transformation in democratizing politics, they will readily appreciate the need for a multi-faceted, multi-layered and multi-dimensional approach to national policing and maintenance of law and order. Indeed, apart from strengthening the operational and administrative capacity of security institutions and the training and re-training of security agents, the other vital component of the paradigm shift in national security calculus is the direct, logical, coherent and sequential involvement of local population and grassroots governance in national security and crime prevention. It is in recognition of the above that the Amotekun model emerged.”

It is yet to be seen if the establishment of the Amotekun will achieve its stated goals and objectives and not affirm the apprehensions of the Federal Government in days to come. This is as other regional coalitions have also taken steps to establish theirs.

Obviously, the security architecture of the country has been overtasked and overstretched with all kinds of challenges already overwhelming it. The challenges of underfunding, inadequate infrastructure, manpower and general lack of a holistic security masterplan that integrates the various threats and what interventions both on the short, medium and long term the various agencies can effect individually and jointly, corruption, and political interference, among others have continued to render the security architecture incapable of dealing extant and emerging security threats.

Most of the time, the state governors have always come to the rescue by providing funds, purchasing equipment, and motivating personnel to provide security in their various states. It therefore become imperative for these same governors to coalesce resources to drive the system of delivering security in their various regions. The geopolitical regions that were yet to establish their own security outfit should speed up the process if the terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, and all other forms of criminality were to be brought to a halt and the people spared the horror of living in fear and not being able to pursue their personal and corporate aspirations in their own country.