The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has appealed to the Federal Government to rescind its declaration that Amotekun is illegal in the overall benefit of the country.
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Operation Amotekun is a new security outfit inaugurated by six states in the South-west on Jan.9.
Mr. Bestman Okereafor, the National Public Relations Officer of NYCN, made the appeal in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Thursday.
He said the security outfit’s structure, which is from the village hunters to other known vigilance groups working together in line with the Nigerian Police, presented the best form of community policing.
According to him, this grassroots-oriented and bottom-up structured as well as an all-involving security framework, which Amotekun presents, is the ideal policing framework for modern policing to checkmate emerging criminality in rural and remote communities.
“The attention of the NYCN has once again been drawn to the position of the Federal Government as regards Amotekun which is a regional security outfit jointly established by the six South-west governors.
“Information at our disposal reveals that Federal Government’s position was disclosed by the Minister for Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, through his special adviser on media, Dr. Umar Gwandu, via a statement issued Jan.14 declaring “AMOTEKUN” as illegal.
“Nigerian youths consider this position as unfair and not in line with the principle of egalitarianism being preached by the present APC-led administration.
“As progressive-minded Nigerian youth leadership, we expect the Federal Government to complement the effort of the South-west governors rather than an outright rejection and condemnation of the security outfit,’’ he said.
Okereafor, however, called on all South-west residents and Nigerian youths at large to remain calm and be peaceful as ever “even as we await the position of the South-west governors and their consultations with the Federal Government on the matter,’’