… Urges Southwest lawmakers to prioritise region’s security above ‘motorcycle’ empowerment.
… Says escalating situation might affect food security

A lawyer, Ifeoluwa Fasoranti, has called on the Federal Government to emulate the successful security strategy employed by the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), otherwise known as Amotekun Corps, in the Southwest region in the wake of escalating insecurity in the country.

The legal practitioner, who also stated that the establishment of state police should be considered, emphasised the need for the government to decentralise security operations and empower states to establish their own police forces to tackle the rising security challenges. Fasoranti, who disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Akure, the Ondo State capital, lamented that innocent Nigerian lives were lost in the hands of criminals.

According to him, the effectiveness of the Amotekun corps in combating various forms of criminal activities, including kidnapping, banditry, and communal clashes in the Southwest region has been top-notch. He stressed that the intelligence gathering employed by the Amotekun Corps has yielded positive results.

While urging lawmakers from the Southwest to prioritise the region’s security challenges above other initiatives, such as “motorcycle” empowerment, which he deemed secondary to the pressing issue of insecurity, Fasoranti called for holistic approach to enhance effective security.

He said: “When the issue of terrorism was still predominantly domiciled in the North East, I was of the opinion that it had to be nipped in the bud before it expanded to other areas in the north and, by extension, the southern part of the country.

“I still remember vividly the maitasine group in the Alakuko area of Lagos during General Buba Maruwa’s tenure as governor of Lagos. They were being faced frontally and routed completely, which put an end to such things in Lagos State. Innocent and peace loving Nigerians are being gagged to submission to other illegal arms wielding criminals.

“The federal government should learn from the achievements of Amotekun and the peace they have been able to achieve with little or nothing. Kudos to Aketi (late former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu) as the leader of the team.

“There should be liberalisation of arms. Let the state police be established by the power of the National Assembly.

“Let the south-west assembly of their National Assembly representatives take this decision and take it to the National Assembly as the position of the region for passage.

“This should be our demand for now to senators and reps members. Not plastic empowerment, not Okada, or grinding machines. We need to secure our people so our food security can be maintained.”