Owo massacre: Amotekun to bear sophisticated weapons
DISTURBED by the recent attack in the state by terrorists, the Ondo State House of Assembly, weekend, said it would soon amend the law establishing the State Security outfit, codenamed Amotekun, to deal with the spate of insecurity in the state.
After the review, the Amotekun corps will be empowered to have access to improved technology and more sophisticated weapons. The Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Sports, Mr. Gbenga Omole, disclosed this, yesterday, during a security summit organised by Oka Community in Akoko South-West council area of the state.
“We are looking at the law to give more backing to Amotekun in terms of procurement of more sophisticated weapons and more technology to be deployed.”
Speaking at the summit, the traditional ruler of the town, the Olubaka of Oka Kingdom, Oba Yusuf Adeleye, said that security is a collective responsibility of the people.
“This is not the first time we are having this summit but it is important to have this summit now, considering the various security challenges that we have been having and it is important to do this because we have to be vigilant now.
“We have to give kudos to the state government for establishing Amotekun corps and we give kudos to other security operatives. What happened in Owo on June 5, where unknown gunmen came to a church and killed over 40 people, is an eye-opener that we have to be up and doing.
“We have to be vigilant; we have to know people around us; we have to take the issue of security serious more than ever because what happened in Owo could happen anywhere. We have to be proactive.”
Speaking at the summit, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Adewole Ajakaiye, called for cooperation between the citizens and security agencies.“
Makinde approves recruitment of additional 500 Amotekun corps
Meanwhile, as part of efforts to ensure security of lives and property in Oyo State, the state governor, Seyi Makinde, weekend, approved the recruitment of additional 500 men for the state’s Western Nigeria Security Network, WNSN, code named Amotekun.
The governor announced this at a monthly security meeting with Local Government Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, heads of security agencies, traditional rulers and other stakeholders, held at House of Chiefs Secretariat, in Ibadan.
He said: “Security is everyone’s business and if we all play our parts well, we will have a safer and more secured environment. Although, security of lives and property is paramount responsibility of government. But government cannot do it alone except with cooperation of the entire citizenry and as we can see from reports all over the country, Oyo State is relatively peaceful, this was not achieved by the effort of government alone but with the efforts of all stakeholders, most especially the security commanders.”
Source: Vanguard
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