The Federal Government and South West governors have agreed that ‘Operation Amotekun’ should be structured to align with the community policing strategy of the Federal Government.
It was also agreed the South West states should give legal backing to the initiative, and address all issues concerning the regulation of the security structure.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity in the Office of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, made this known in a statement he sent to The DEFENDER via email on Thursday.
Akande gave the update following a meeting between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the six governors of the South West who are promoters of the Amotekun project.
The meeting update was given hours after the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), had insisted on illegality of the outfit.
The presidential spokesman, Mr. Laolu Akande, said: “Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, met today with South West Governors, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Inspector General of Police.
“The meeting was at the instance of the Governors who had asked to see President Muhammadu Buhari over the controversy surrounding the Amotekun Initiative. However due to the President’s foreign engagement, he asked the Vice President to host the meeting.
“The meeting was very fruitful and unanimous resolutions were made on the way forward.
“Having regard to the need for all hands to be on deck in addressing the security concerns across the country, it was agreed that the structure of Amotekun should also align with the Community Policing strategy of the Federal Government.
“It was also agreed that necessary legal instruments will be put in place by each of the States to give legal backing to the initiative and address all issues concerning the regulation of the security structure,” the statement said.
The DEFENDER reports that Amotekun’s launch had sparked controversies and brought ethnic, religious and political dimensions to the public debates.
The Federal Government, until the Thursday meeting, had remained unchanging on its position declaring that the outfit is “illegal”, according to a statement by the office of the Justice Minister.
The government had said it had a policy on community policing, which had been approved by the President, Muhammadu Buhari.
It will recalled that governors of North Central states earlier in the week met and adopted the community policing policy of the Federal Government to address the security challenges in their zone.
