Akeredolu Promises To Arm Amotekun Despite Buhari Orders, Saying, “If Katsina Can, Ondo Will”

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In defiance of the government’s order, Akeredolu promises to arm Amotekun.

Ondo’s governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, claims that his state will buy weapons for members of the Western Nigeria Security Network, also known as Amotekun.

The renowned Nigerian lawyer (SAN) argued that Amotekun should be given the same permission to carry weapons as the federal government had provided to a security group in Katsina.

Using his official Twitter account, the 66-year-old politician made this statement on Thursday.

Rotimi Akeredolu statement on Amotekun

• “The video going around showing the equivalent of the Western Nigeria Security Network (Amotekun Corps) getting permission from the Federal Government to bear arms in Katsina is laden with huge dangers,” he stated.

• “Rejecting the foundation of true federalism, which we have been calling for, by denying Amotekun the much needed rights to lawfully bear arms, is a grave error.

• That Katsina was able to outfit its state security force with an AK-47 on display indicates that we are working toward a “one country, two systems” solution to the national dilemma.

• If the Katsina situation gives some people advantages in the face of existential risks that are frequently confronted, then our unitary policing system, which has failed, is an intentional tool of oppression that needs to be addressed.

• The Independence Agreement was founded on a democratic system that decentralized internal security mechanisms and created a federal state. We have to return to that arrangement.

• If Amotekun’s right to bear arms is denied, armed robbers and organized crime will be allowed to operate freely throughout the Southwest. Additionally, our agriculture industry is being purposefully destroyed. Existential danger is what it is.

• What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, we want to stress again. The Ondo State government has made the decision to acquire weapons to protect its citizens in order to uphold its legal, constitutional, and moral obligations to them.

• This is especially true considering that the thieves have unrestricted access to high-tech firearms. The state authority cannot stand by as its citizens are harassed and killed without consequence. We’ll stand up for our citizens.

Akeredolu’s declaration came a few weeks after Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue, threatened to obtain support from his constituents if the federal government refused to authorize the license for weaponry for the state’s security organization.

The federal government had previously stated that security forces established by different state administrations cannot carry weapons.