Amotekun: Kidnapping, Rape, Armed Banditry have no religion, says Osun Gov
The Governor of Osun Mr Gboyega Oyetola as said that violent crimes have no religious coloration.
Oyetola seems to be responding to a tiny section of the South West desperate to scuttle the peoples desire for local security.
In the statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ismaila Omipidan cautioned on the need to have an open mind and halt primordial interpretations to the Amotekun motive.
One Ishag Akintola was quoted to have said that Amotekun was a Christian initiative.
Oyetola said ” the raging debate over the launch of the South West Security Network otherwise known as Amotekun is no doubt healthy and a welcome development”
According to him “to politicise it on the altar of religion and ethnicity will be unhealthy, dangerous and counter productive”
He said Amotekun is a collective response by the South West region to the spate of armed banditry, rape, kidnapping, and other violent crimes that suddenly became a past time in the South West.
He added: “To therefore claim that it is an agenda against a particular faith or adherents of a particular religion is not only preposterous, but also in bad taste”
The Governor said kidnapping, rape and armed Banditry have no religion and know no tribe or ethnicity.
He said further “For the records, no recruitment has been carried out so far, especially in our dear State of Osun. So, rather than constitute ourselves into opposing a project we all clamoured for in response to existential threats for which some of the governors in the region have been called out and vilified in the past, we should rally support for Amotekun by coming up with strategies to fine-tune it with a view to bridging any communication gap between the Federal Government and the South West Governors over it.”
In defence of the Amotekun initiative, Oyetola said “Section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is clear that the security of life and property of citizens as well as their welfare is the primary purpose and responsibility of government, be it state or federal.”
He argued that the State of Osun is committed to protecting its citizens; and every reasonable and responsible Osun indigene must “join our collective resolve as a government to protect our citizens”