A cleric and key members of hunters as well as members of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), among other stakeholders were part of the solidarity rally held in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on Tuesday in support of ‘Amotekun’
Also in the rally were members of the National Association of Nigerian Students(NANS), Vigilante Group of Nigeria, Yoruba Koya, Man ‘O War, Oodua Union, Ekiti Council of Elders, Agbekoya Movement and other members of the society.
It was a general consensus among the stakeholders that the Amotekun initiative has berthed permanently in the south-west region and that it was not formed to fight Fulani herdsmen, except the unruly and destructive ones.
Speaking at the rally, a cleric and coordinator of the peaceful protest, Pastor Praise Ayodele said: “Amotekun has come to stay in south-west Nigeria. We are not fighting anybody. The security of our people is very important. We are to do this to support our governors that we are happy with Amotekun.
Also, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Kayode Fayemi on Internal Security and former Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Honourable Dele Olugbemi said: “The Amotekun is for easy identification of all visitors to Ekiti and south-west. It is sad that Malami made pronouncement over an issue he knew nothing about. He spoke as if he didn’t know the level of insecurity in this zone.
“Some of these evildoers besieged even our towns killed the people and destroyed everything on the farm. Amotekun will work in their localities and it is not about fighting anybody.”
Making his contributions, the Coordinator of Oodua Union, Hon Femi Robinson, said the security architecture in the country has collapsed and that local security becomes imperative, saying “If Amotekun disarms armed robbers, are they not helping the police?” he asked.
The leaders of Agbekoya and Vigilante Group of Nigeria, Chief Sunday Omoyajowo and Mrs Suwebat Aliu respectively, said Yoruba maintained a united front about Amotekun and that nothing would change this stand, adding that “Amotekun won’t render the police useless, because security is a function of everybody, so we appreciate our governors for this initiative.”
The leader of the delegation of Ekiti Council of Elders, Chief Niyi Ajubulu, regretted that people can no longer move around as a result of increased insecurity in the region.
“We have to be vigilant in this zone. Amotekun has landed and we must cooperate with them. Whoever that is averse to the formation of this outfit is satanic,” Ajubulu said.
