The Osun State Governor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola has urged the newly-recruited officers into the State Security Network Agency, Amotekun in the state to collaborate with their colleagues in the southwest to protect the region against criminality.
The Governor who spoke at the official inauguration of the corps after three weeks training at Wole Soyinka High School, Ejigbo, Osun state, said the outfit was created to collaborate with other security agencies to rid the region of criminals and criminality.
“Amotekun is created to collaborate with the security agencies and the vigilance groups and hunters across the State in order to ensure security in a peaceful, harmonious and professional manner.
“Let me also remind you all that by the nature of Amotekun operations and network, yours is a complementary and collaborative security outfit. I therefore urge you to collaborate with your colleagues in neighbouring South West States to keep our region and our people safe.
“Security is critical to our Development Agenda and a strategy for revolutionising the economy of the State. Consequently, you have a crucial role to play in attaining this noble objective. You must therefore secure the State with integrity, civility and a high sense of responsibility.
“Our State is noted as a peaceful one. We all have a responsibility to sustain our ranking as the Most Peaceful State in the nation. It is on this note that I implore all the citizens of the State to cooperate with the Amotekun corps operatives to make security management easy and peaceful so that we can deliver a strong and prosperous Osun.”
“We have recruited 750 vigilantes across all local governments in the State to provide intelligence on the activities and suspicious movements of criminals to the officials of Amotekun.
“We shall continue to provide all the equipment necessary for the successful prosecution of security and execution of the Amotekun Project. We shall continue to strategise to deliver security to the State,” Oyetola added.
In his remark, the Amotekun Governing Board’s Chairman, Brigadier-General Isah Aderigbigbe competent sons and daughters from the state were recruited and trained for three weeks, which culminated into these inauguration parades.
“Our operatives went through three phases of training which include physical, moral and psychological training which prepared them for the daunting task ahead.
“I appeal to all stakeholders in the state including government operatives and other security agencies to cooperate with the Amotekun Corps to ensure a seamless security operation”, he said.
The cadets, according to the Corps Commandant, Brigadier-General Bashir Adewinmbi went through rigorous combined security training, including; Intelligence gathering, combating crimes in different areas, drill and parade, endurance training, ethics, use of weapons and self defense, Amotekun civil relation, unarmed combat, joint operations, patrol, guard duties, crime detection and prevention, among others.
“With the inauguration of Amotekun, the state would finally bid goodbye to any crime, I therefore advise criminals to vacate the state. Yahoo boys, land grabbers, ritualists and all forms of criminals should leave Osun, Amotekun is on board and would not tolerate criminality”, he said.
Highlights of the event include passing out parade, inspection of guard by the Governor, and combat simulation exercise by the special unit of the corps.