Alao-Akala: Southwest Govs appointing wrong Amotekun commanders

 Bisi Oladele, Southwest Bureau Chief 

A former Oyo Governor Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala has faulted appointment of retired military officers as commanders of Amotekun in Southwest states.

Alao-Akala, who addressed reporters in his Bodija, Ibadan residence as part of the activities marking his 70th birthday, said only Lagos State has got it right by appointing a retired police officer to head the security outfit.

The former Governor, who clocks 70 on June 3, spoke about his memoir entitled: ‘Amazing Grace’ billed for launch in June

Alao-Akala, who is a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, said Amotekun is a security outfit that will strengthen internal security.

According to him, it was established to work with the police for success.

He explained that policemen are trained in internal security, adding that Amotekun is structured to operate under the supervision of commissioners of police in the states.

He said it is only reasonable to appoint a retired police officer as commanders because he will not only understand the best way to work with the police but also relate well with Commissioners of Police guaranteeing a smooth working relationship that is expected to help the outfit succeed.

He emphasised that military officers are trained to fight wars and likely to see themselves as superior to Commissioners of Police, a situation that may disallow the police from giving its best support to the outfit.

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The former governor said: “The Amotekun Corp will fail in the Southwest states except Lagos. The outfit is supposed to take care of security of the people and their property across the zone but it will fail in every state except Lagos because the right people were not appointed to head it.

“You cannot expect a soldier to head Amotekun successfully. A police officer is trained specially on internal security management. If fundamentally the foundation is weak whatever you want to put on it would be weak.

“When you have a soldier there, he is taught how to kill. The governors don’t get it right by appointing ex-military men to head the outfit in the other states.

“If a retired senior police officer was appointed as the head of the Amotekun outfit in a state, the Commissioner of Police in the state would respect him as his former superior. A retired Army officer would want to be forceful in his approach. Remember that only the police can prosecute criminals, Amotekun cannot, so they need the cooperation of the police.

“The Amotekun personnel are not armed; they will be successful if they collaborate with the police by calling for support while trying to burst crimes in their respective states and localities.”