Insecurity: Afenifere seeks to weaponize Amotekun, tech enhancement

August 21, 2024

By Samuel Ogunsona

Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and political organization, has called for the strengthening and empowerment of the Amotekun security network to effectively address the growing insecurity challenges in the Southwest region of Nigeria

This was stated in a communique issued in Akure, Ondo state capital by the group leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.

The leader demands enhanced capabilities and support for Amotekun to combat insecurity in Nigeria’s Southwest through advanced technology and weaponization.

According to the group, the security network needs to be modernized and upgraded to tackle the insecurity menace in Yoruba territory.

Part of the communique reads, “Such reworking should include accelerating actions on the decision of the government to have state police.

“There’s also the urgent need to deploy modern technology more comprehensively into the efforts of combating banditry and terrorism. Doing so would check, if not totally stop, the incidences of kidnapping and sundry banditry now ravaging the land.

“We also advocated for the licensing of Amotekun to carry lethal weapons. There should be greater cooperation between Amotekun and other security agencies. Command and Control posts are installed across all the local government areas so that information can be shared in real-time as is done in many developed and not so developed countries.

“In the light of the current high cost of living, Afenifere urged the Federal Government, through its various organs in charge of finance and fiscal policies, to accelerate actions that will strengthen the value of our currency, enhance productivity, reduce costs of items and services geared towards reducing inflation and enhancing the welfare of the people.

“In view of the strategic position that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Plc and Independent Oil Marketers occupy in the oil sector, Afenifere strongly called on them to let the interest of the nation, nay the interest of the people of Nigeria, to be uppermost in their minds and actions.

“The ruling by the Supreme Court has made it possible for local governments to have more control over their finances. It’s therefore imperative for them to go back to what used to be the case in the past. By this we mean a situation in which local government councils not only have farms, but make things easy for local farmers by providing them with needed resources – sometimes at subsidized fees.

“This will not only make foodstuffs more available; it’ll also enhance the council’s finances and boost the local economy. This will also partly take care of the concerns raised by the farmers who visited the leader in April this year,” the communique added.