Ondo Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has ordered massive recruitment into the State Security Network known as the Amotekun Corps in its second batch recruitment exercise.
The order came as the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum given by the governor on Monday to Fulani herdsmen in the state to leave government forest reserves nears. The governor said the herdsmen had turned the reserves into places of criminality.
Chief Tunji Adeleye, Commander of the Corps, said in a statement that interested applicants must be between 20 and 70 years.
Officers to be recruitment included regular officers, intelligence Corps and volunteers, he explained.
The six states in the Western region launched the regional Security Network codenamed Amotekun, as part of efforts to fight the rising tide of insecurity in the region. The region, as in other parts of the country, has come under attacks by kidnappers, killing and other violent crimes, often committed by men who disguise as herdsmen.
Ondo was the first to launch the Amotekun Corps last year in the South West region in the governor’s determination to stamp out the rising wave of insecurity.
Akeredolu’s order to the herdsmen has sparked disagreements among the political leaders and groups in the country, the various opinions showing the deep division between those who support restructuring in the country and those opposed to it.
The first opposition came from the Presidency, which sent a counter directive a day later to the governor, insisting that he lacked the power to order the herdsmen out. Also opposed to the order is the Northern Elders’ Forum, which in support of the herders, said they should remain at their bases.
But the state has received support from the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere among others.
