Governor Ademola Adeleke has issued a high-alert warning over the rising threat of banditry and kidnapping infiltrating Osun State from neighboring Kwara.
He demanded that the Nigeria Police Force immediately reinstate the operations of the state’s security outfit, Amotekun.
Following a recent kidnapping incident in the Ora Igbomina area, the governor revealed that the state’s security architecture is currently “handicapped.”
He attributed this vulnerability to the prolonged sealing of Amotekun’s offices and the continued detention of its top leadership by police authorities without trial.
Adeleke emphasised that the absence of the Amotekun Corps has created a dangerous void, particularly in rural and border communities where the local outfit previously held a specialized advantage in containment and intelligence gathering.
READ ALSO
“Closing down Amotekun exposes Osun people to serious risks,” the governor stated following a closed-door security meeting.
“The police’s shutting down of the service operations has created a big gap being exploited by bandits and criminals.”
In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the governor directed a specific appeal to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.
His demands were two-pronged: immediately charge the detained Amotekun officers to court after months of incarceration without formal trial and unseal the Amotekun service to allow operatives to resume their grassroots security duties.
The governor warned that further delays are no longer just administrative hurdles but are becoming matters of life and death.
He noted that the state is facing a potential “spillover” of criminal activity from Kwara State, which could lead to further infiltration if the rural corridors remain unpoliced by the local corps.
“Any further delay in the unsealing of Amotekun will further jeopardize the safety and security of our people,” Adeleke concluded, signaling his intent to keep the matter in the public eye until the state’s security capacity is restored.
