The national secretary of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Saleh Alhassan, Tuesday said his organisation is afraid that if the Amotekun security outfit is allowed to operate, it could turn out to be a disaster for Nigeria.
Alhassan, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, likened the initiative to the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), which he claimed has the history of heinous crimes and killings.
He also described the initiative as a threat to Democracy.
“For us, Amotekun, the Yoruba tribal militia is one of the greatest threats to democracy we now have in place. You cannot empower an ethnic militia that has violent crime,” Alhassan said.
“We are afraid because if they don’t tame this monster at an early stage, it is going to be a serious disaster for the country.
“Essentially what you have as Amotekun is OPC that have a history of ethnic crimes and killings. And the proponents of Amotekun have not hidden who their targets are. They have consistently said their target is to displace the herders from the Southwest.”
He accused those backing the creation of the security outfit of planning to displace the herdsmen in the Yoruba-speaking states.
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Alhassan’s comments came two weeks after Amotekun, officially known as the Southwest Security Network, was launched by the governors of Southwestern states as part of an integrated approach to fighting crime in the region.
The Federal Government described the initiative as illegal, noting that no other authority at the state level whether the executive or legislature has the legal authority to set up its own security outfit.
“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) has established the Army, Navy and Airforce including the Police and other numerous paramilitary organisations for the purpose of the defence of Nigeria” Special Assistant, Media and Public Relations in the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu said.
