Senator Kola Balogun, representing Oyo South Senatorial District, on Monday called on the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to grant the South West Security Network, codenamed Amotekun the license to bear arms.
Balogun, who made the call while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today, also explained “Let me also say that I am aware that the Amotekun personnel have requested that the Inspector-General of Police grant them the license to be well-equipped.
“As we speak now, they are not as equipped as these invaders who are savages and who go on the rampage”.
“I appeal to the IG and the police to grant them (Amotekun personnel) the license to be well-equipped as long as what they are doing is in support of what the police is doing”, he added.
No doubt, clashes between herders and farmers in the southwest have made front pages in recent months, raising concerns over the ability of security agencies to maintain law and order.
Over the weekend, (last Sunday), gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, again, attacked Igangan community in Ibarapa North local government area Oyo State, killing 11 people and destroying properties.
However, while condemning the incident, the lawmaker commended the Amotekun operatives and other local vigilante groups, explaining that the situation could have been worse if not for their intervention.
According to him, “Amotekun is active and Amotekun is working even with the police. As a matter of fact, the situation would have been worse but for Amotekun and other local security outfits because from the report that I got, the people that came to invade had bigger plans than what happened,” he added while noting that Amotekun now has a joint patrol across the region.
“It was the community, the Amotekun, the local vigilantes that were mobilised in the middle of the night even though they were ambushed because they were not expecting them but they actually mitigated the effect of the damage”, Balogun stressed.
