FG must x-ray different sides of Amotekun
A lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Bayero University Kano, Dr Sa’id Ahmad Dukawa, said the issue should be looked at from different angles.
“These people have conducted recruitment, trainings and purchased vehicles, there is no way they could do these without the knowledge of the government.
“The people of the South West have also considered a vital schedule of the Nigerian Constitution by saying that personnel of the outfit will not carry arms. So, looking at it from this angle, the federal government has no right to declare the outfit illegal after it was launched,” he said.
However, Dukawa added that during the launch of the security outfit, there was pronouncement that for someone to be qualified as personnel of the outfit, he/she must obtain a certificate from a church. “So, this has clearly shown that the Amotekun is purely a Christian affair and the region comprises both Christian and Muslim residents.
“Another scary statement made during the launching of the outfit was that Nigerians should not look at the establishment of the outfit as an attempt to break from the nation. This statement gives a notion that there is hidden agenda in the formation of Amotekun.
“It was also pronounced during the launching of the outfit that the issue of herdsmen is going to be a thing of the past which means the personnel of Amotekun will deal with herders not criminals,” he added.
A Professor of Criminology with the Department of Sociology at the University of Jos, Etannibi Alemika, said though details in terms of the roles, functions and structure of the security outfit are still scanty, it is wrong to compare it with state-based security outfits such as the Hisbah in Kano and the Civilian JTF in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
“Those examples are wrong as they are state-based not regional based. The Civilian JTF in Borno is independent of the one in Adamawa and the one in Adamawa is independent from the one in Yobe. So in terms of structure, they are within the state level and when you have that, the state can go ahead to pass a law that allows for vigilante services as long as it remains within the crime watch level and that is what places like Lagos have done. Rivers State just passed one and Kogi State passed one last year.”
He, however, said when it becomes a regional outfit like Amotekun, there might be some anxiety and advised that more consultations between the states and the federal authorities should take place to clarify the structure.
The Head of Department of Private Law, University of Maiduguri, Dr. Mohammed Musa, said the federal government was right.
He observed that the fact that the government did not ban Amotekun until after the launch showed it has the right to checkmate anything that will constitute a threat to public interest. “Nigeria is bigger than all of us,” he stated.
The law scholar said with Amotekun, “the South West states can constitute themselves into a parallel government.”