The Commander of the Corps, Brigadier General Alade Adedigba (rtd) disclosed this while responding to questions during an interactive media parley with journalists in Abeokuta on Thursday.
Adedigba said Prince Dapo Abiodun led administration in Ogun State is in firm control of its security architecture through robust collaboration among security agencies, the Amotekun Network and other security apparatus, and this has made it possible for the people to sleep with their two eyes closed.
He said the various assistance and support rendered to the State Amotekun in the areas of recruitment, prompt payment of salaries and emoluments, and others, are what motivates the operatives to be diligent in their assignments.
“We have adopted new strategies, revitalised our mode of operations and strategies, including visible presence in every nook and cranny of the state, patrols, manning of key and vulnerable points, blackspots, intelligence-led operations, community partnership and inter-agency cooperation.
He stated that his main target is getting criminals off the streets and keeping Ogun State safe rather than competing with other security agencies over prosecution of arrested suspects.
Salient Times reports that the Ogun Amotekun lacks prosecutory powers by law and is mandated to hand over suspected criminals to the police for prosecution.
But shedding more lights on this, Adedigba said while the government is already working to review the Ogun State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps Law, 2020, the issue of who eventually charges an arrested suspect to court is not as important as the synergy between security agencies to keep the state safe.
“Earlier this year, we resubmitted a new draft bill for Amotekun to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry is reviewing it and very soon it will get to the Ogun State House of Assembly for passage and eventual assent by the Governor.
However we are not in competition with any agency. We are more interested in collaboration. The issue of who prosecutes is not important but the most important thing is that the state is safe. The Service Commanders in Ogun State are one and there is no competition,” he said.
Adedigba credited the renewed crime prevention drive of the Amotekun Corps to the strong backing of Governor Dapo Abiodun.
He hailed Governor Abiodun for approving the recruitment of more staff to cover the entire length and breadth of Ogun State and for providing operational infrastructure to help the agency combat crime.
Adedigba explained that Amotekun now has a presence in every area of security concern including highways, rural areas, schools, urban centres, forest reserves and government facilities, a feat he attributed to the logistical and manpower support from the state government.
“Today, we have over fifty operational vehicles and over seventy-five motorbikes to aid mobility. Currently we have deployment in 22 tertiary institutions and 11 vocational institutions. This is made possible because we are being equipped and funded,” he said.
Also speaking at the parley, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, AIG Olusola Subair (Rtd), declared that the state is safer than it was some years ago as a result of Governor Abiodun’s commitment to security of lives and property.
“If you want to be truthful, you know that about two or three years ago, you heard of cultism here in Abeokuta, Sango Ota, Sagamu and other parts of the state. Now these things have subsided and that is due to the fact that our governor is very proactive with regards to ensuring there is security in Ogun State and the fact that we enjoy synergy between all security agencies in Ogun State.
“If you look at our road from Abeokuta here to Sagamu Interchange, you will see that on a daily basis, industries are springing up. That is to attest to the fact that Ogun State is safe and Ogun State is secure,” Subair said.
The media parley was also attended by the Ogun State Accountant General, Tunde Aregbesola, and former Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, CP Edward Ajogun (rtd).
