Contrary to claims that the recently inaugurated Operation Amotekun, a Yoruba word for Leopard, will work with security operatives in the South-west region, It was gathered that the military has been sidelined already.
THISDAY had reached out to the army, navy and the air force, and they all disclosed that they haven’t been consulted or briefed on the role they are to play in the security initiative for the region.
Speaking on anonymity, a senior source in the navy said: “Although the programme was touted to be a joint operation that is supposed to involve the military, none of us was consulted or briefed.
“I think they are just doing their thing on the political level. But if we are to come into the arrangement, the chief of defence staff will have to give us an official directive.
“At least none of us in the South-west region have been contacted. Nonetheless, it is not a replication of other operations we are running in the region.”
Another source in the army debunked claims that the operation was a spin off of the ongoing Operation Crocodile Smile going on in the region.
He said: “There is no comparison between Operations Crocodile Smile and Amotekun. Ours is a purely army affair. All the same, we haven’t been contacted.
“I also read in the papers where they said they will work with us. We are not adverse to that, however, they will have to go through the chief of Defence staff.”
Operation Amotekun, a joint security operation by the six South-west states, was inaugurated to tackle robbery, kidnappings, banditry in the region, with its headquarters in Ibadan.
Conscripted to join the operation are members of the O’odua Peoples Congress (OPC), local vigilantes, and hunters and from the pilot plan, they are supposed to work with security operatives ranging from the police, military and paramilitary.
Although the group is not expected to join the patrols by security agencies, it was gathered that they had been slated for more of intelligence gathering.
Already, the US Consulate has partnered DAWN Commission, the dedicated technocratic institution for the sustainable development of the South-west, that oversees the regional security initiative.
On the commission’s Twitter page, the Director-General of DAWN Commission, Mr. Seye Oyeleye, was seen receiving the Political Officer, United States Consulate General, Lagos, Jillian Itharat in his office.
According to the post, at the meeting which held on Tuesday, December 17, 2019, had Itharat reiterated the commitment of the US Consulate to partner DAWN Commission on areas of development across South-west region.
CULLED FROM THISDAY
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