The Ondo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Kayode Ajulo, has described the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), otherwise known as the Amotekun Corps, as the definitive blueprint for Nigeria’s transition to state-controlled policing system.
Ajulo emphasised that Amotekun, since its establishment, particularly in Ondo State five years ago, has proven that decentralised policing can function effectively within a framework of constitutional and democratic oversight.
The Attorney General stated this in a statement while countering the position of Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, who had warned of the dangers of creating a state police, arguing that a decentralised approach to policing could lead to decentralised despotism.
According to the state’s chief legal officer, Amotekun is a professionally supervised, democratically accountable institution that has measurably improved safety while operating within the confines of existing legal frameworks.
While stressing that Amotekun has provided empirical and practical evidence that decentralised security under democratic oversight is both effective and essential, Ajulo maintained that the outfit has significantly reduced violent crime and restored economic and social normalcy to once-terrified communities.
He said: “In the face of this reality, state police is not a fad or a sleight of hand; it is an existential necessity for a federation suffocating under a one-size-fits-all approach.
“And nowhere does this truth shine brighter than in the quiet but powerful example of the South West Security Network, Operation Amotekun, the Southwest’s homegrown innovation that demonstrates how decentralised policing can function equally, transparently, and effectively.
“The NPF’s structural challenge is not rooted in a lack of effort or patriotism; it stems from a centralisation model that restricts responsiveness to local threats. With an overstretched command system, underfunding, and the diversion of officers to duties far removed from core policing, the Force’s capacity is routinely tested.
“This is why multiple reform committees, including the Parry Osayande Committee in 2012, have consistently recommended decentralisation to improve efficiency and local intelligence gathering.”
Ajulo, who hailed Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for demonstrating how state-level security can thrive under constitutional discipline, commended President Bola Tinubu’s move to have the National Assembly review state police laws, describing it as “an overdue gauntlet thrown to lawmakers to codify Amotekun’s virtues nationwide.”
“Governor Aiyedatiwa has shown that when a state chief executive embraces decentralised security not as a political ornament but as a governance obligation, safety becomes a demonstrable reality, not a rhetorical promise.
“His administration’s commitment proves that Nigeria’s future security architecture must be bottom-up, not top-down; community-driven, not command-chain congested. And that is precisely why Amotekun, under leaders like Aiyedatiwa, is the brightest beam pointing Nigeria toward the inevitability of state police.
“The governors in the Southwest, with Amotekun, have shown that they can wield security as a shield, not a sword. Let the National Assembly act, or history will judge us not for our cautions but for our cowardice. The people demand state police, not as an option, but as oxygen.”
