Governor Ademola Adeleke has warned against a potential spillover of banditry and kidnapping from Kwara State into Osun, urging the police to immediately lift the ban on Amotekun operations to combat emerging security threats in the state and the Southwest zone.
Responding to a fresh case of kidnapping in the Ora Igbomina area, the governor stated that the state is handicapped in its security response because the Amotekun Corps has remained sealed by the police, with its top officers in detention without trial for several months.
According to Adeleke, the Amotekun service had developed specialized containment expertise, particularly in rural border areas while the police shutdown of the service has created a significant gap now being exploited by bandits and other criminals.
Adeleke called on the Inspector General of Police to charge those detained to court and unseal the service, stating that further delay may endanger the rural population and open the state to further criminal infiltration.
“I am taking this matter to the public domain in view of another kidnapping at Ora Igbomina.
“Closing down Amotekun exposes Osun people to serious risks. I call on the Inspector General of Police to unseal Amotekun and allow its operatives to secure my people across the grassroots,” the Governor said.
“Those officers in detention should be charged to court after several months of incarceration. Any further delay in the unsealing of Amotekun will further jeopardise the safety and security of our people,” the Governor added following a closed-door security meeting.
