The pioneer Director-General and former Field Marshal of the Osun State Amotekun Corps, Jagunmolu Amitolu Shittu, has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to order the reopening of the locked operational bases and divisions of the Osun Amotekun Corps.
Addressing members of the press in Osogbo, Shittu expressed concern over the recent developments within the state’s security outfit, particularly the Akinlalu incident, which, according to him, has cast Osun State in a negative light among other states in the federation.
He emphasized that Amotekun was established out of necessity to address growing security challenges in the Southwest, following rising criminal activities and attacks by bandits and terrorists from the northern part of the country. The security outfit, he noted, was legally created by the Houses of Assembly of Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, and Ekiti States to protect lives and property.
Shittu, however, admitted that the leadership of the current Osun Amotekun Corps had fallen short of expectations, noting that “there are a large number of bad eggs among the operatives.” He cautioned that while individuals may have erred, the institution itself should not be disbanded or abandoned.
He specifically urged that the runaway Commander of the Osun Amotekun Corps, Isaac Adekunle Omoyele, be made to face the law, and that those responsible for the “dastardly act in Akinlalu” be arrested and prosecuted.
The former DG also recommended an immediate profiling of all recently recruited operatives to weed out criminal elements within the corps.
In his appeal to the Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, Shittu called for the immediate dismissal of Omoyele as Commander of the Amotekun Corps, warning that continued association with the embattled officer could tarnish the Governor’s image as the state’s Chief Security Officer.
“Amotekun remains a baby of necessity that should not be thrown away with the bathwater,” he said.
