Amotekun, a regional security outfit put together by state governors from the South-West region has been disbanded.
The outfit, according to Rotimi Akeredolu, chairman of the South-West Governors Forum, is now a state-based security.
Mr Akeredolu stated this after the state governors held a meeting with the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, on Thursday.
The formation of the regional outfit gathered momentum across the country. It also led youths from the Northern part of the country to unveil their own codenamed Shege Ka Fasa.
“We have spoken and we want everyone to know that, Amotekun was not conceived as a regional police, but a state-based security outfit,” Akeredolu said.
“We have come out of this meeting happy and we have agreed on the resolution. We have shed lights on dark areas and we are on the same page with the police with respect to these issues,” he added.
In his remarks, the IGP said Amotekun will now operate as a state initiative in collaboration with community policing strategy.
“Amotekun is not a regional security outfit. Every state has one form of security arrangement, whether it is vigilante or neighbourhood watch that are working security agencies in the states to fight crime,” Adamu said.
Amotekun is not different from these initiatives. We have agreed that community policing strategy be infused into the Amotekun structure, so that policing will be initiative of the community members,” he added.
The police boss added that the force would be part of the recruitment, training and deployment of personnel to be assigned for Amotekun operations.
A similar meeting he had with state governors from the South-East region made the leaders of the zone to dump the intention of floating their own regional security.
