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Amotekun: Ignore Malami, Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Tell South-West Governors

January 15, 2020

Rejecting Malami’s pronouncement, the prominent persons under the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum questioned if different sections of the country were governed by diverse laws.

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Leaders across four geopolitical zones in the country with the exception of the North-West and North-East have told governors in the South-West region to ignore claims by Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, that its security outfit, Amotekun, was illegal.

Rejecting Malami’s pronouncement, the prominent persons under the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum questioned if different sections of the country were governed by diverse laws.

They wondered why the Civilian Joint Task Force and Hisbah were not considered illegal as well.

They also accused the AGF and the presidency of posturing to make some parts of the country vulnerable to herdsmen attacks.

The group said, “The attention of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum has been drawn to the illegal diktat by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami SAN, declaring Amotekun, the South-West security (not military or police) outfit illegal.

“We consider his action as an abuse of office to suppress the rights of federating units to secure themselves and in furtherance of the widely-held suspicion that sections of the country are deliberately being rendered vulnerable for herdsmen and other criminals by the Federal Government.

“We ask governors of the South-West to ignore Malami and allow him to go to court to challenge their decision as he cannot constitute himself as a court over elected governors. We are not under military rule.

“The right to preserve your life cannot be under any exclusive list other than the list of those who have no value for human lives.

“The ultra vire action of the AGF has further exposed Nigeria as a country under command and control and governed by a conquest mentality.

“We ask Malami to tell us what makes Amotekun illegal and Hisbah legal.

“He should further explain to us what makes Civilian JTF legal in the North-East where there is war and in Zamfara and Katsina and Kano where there is no war, while Amotekun is his only illegal take.

“This is a defining moment to decide if we are under segregation and different laws in the country.”

The statement was signed by Yinka Odumakin (South-West); Gen CRU Iherike (South-East); Senator Bassey Henshaw (South-South) and Dr Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt).

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Politics