The planned solidarity rally in support of the recently launched South-West Security Network, codenamed “Operation Amotekun”, was, on Tuesday, held in Abeokuta, Ogun.
The Yoruba World Congress (YWC), an umbrella body of all Yoruba socio-cultural groups, had organised the rally in all the six state capitals of the zone.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who monitored the event at Panseke area of Abeokuta, reports that members of various Yoruba groups attended the rally, which started around 12.30 pm.
The groups included Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Yoruba World Congress (YWC), Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide (YCYW) and the National Association Nigerian Students (NANS).
Some of the protesters were seen carrying placards bearing inscriptions such as: “No Amotekun, No Hisbah!”, “Scrap Amotekun, scrap Nigeria”, “Every Yoruba is Amotekun” and “Amotekun is here” and “An end has come to our sufferings” among others.
Personnel from the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), led by the state Commissioner of Police, Kenneth Ebrimson, and other security agencies like the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were on the ground at the rally.
The Coordinator of the rally in Ogun, Mr Jimoh Taofeek, in his address, described the outfit as complementary to the existing security agencies in the zone.
“Amotekun is not meant to victimise any individual but to protect lives and property while complementing the efforts of security agencies.
“We are here to reach out to the larger public and to tell the Federal Government and the entire Nigerian populace that we want “Amotekun” in the South-West zone of Nigeria.
‘ If Hisbah and other vigilante groups can be in the northern states, with some of them carrying arms and arresting people, there is no reason for not considering “Amotekun” in the South-West.
“Besides, I want to make it very clear that the security outfit is not to witch-hunt anybody whatsoever,” he said.
Taofeek argued that one of the major responsibilities of government was to protect lives and property of the citizens, adding that the Federal Government ought to have commended the South-West governors for complementing security agencies rather than condemning “Amotekun”.