Ogun State says all those vying for officer positions within its Amotekun Corps must be graduates

OGUN State government has set new stringent conditions for anyone wishing to join its local security network the Amotekun Corps including the requirements that all those vying for officer positions must have a bachelors degree and all applicants must pass a HIV test.

Over recent weeks, there has been growing tension over the activities of heavily armed Fulani cattle herdsmen across the southwest geo-political zone, prompting its six states to step up the formation of their Amotekun Corps. Founded last year as the foot soldiers of the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), the Amotekun Corps will fill in for the police to check the murderous activities of the herdsmen.

This week, herdsmen have been on the rampage in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State where they ransacked the Owode Ketu community killing about six people. In a swift response, the Ogun State Amotekun Corps has asked for applications to join the security outfit on the official Ogun State portal.

However, the state government said that a BSc degree or its equivalent is required for those applying for the ranks of Assistant Commander of Corps, Assistant Superintendant of Corps and Superintendant of Corps. In the same vein, those applying as field corps operatives must be primary school certificate holders or local vigilantes, hunters and others with the ability to read and write.

Also, National Certificate of Education, National Diploma or similar qualifications are required to be an inspector of corps. Aside from academic qualifications, applicants for the rank Assistant Superintendant of Corps should preferably be ex-servicemen with the minimum rank of full lieutenant in the army and/or its equivalent in other security agencies.

Superintendant of Corps are required to be ex-servicemen with minimum rank of captain in the army and/or its equivalent in other security agencies. Likewise, assistant commander of corps must be an ex-servicemen with the minimum rank of chief superintendent of police and its equivalent in the military and other security services.

All applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 50, except for hunters, they must pass an oral board interview and must have valid birth certificates or declaration of age. Also an Ogun Amotekun corps officer must be physically fit and must not have any form of physical deformity.

As a result, there will be medical examinations including HIV tests, TB tests, blood tests and X-rays. Also required are letters of recommendation from two guarantors, one traditional ruler or a notable person from the applicant’s community as well as an attestation by the applicant’s local government chairman or secretary.

All applications close on Friday, February 19. In the early part of this week, a farmer identified as Dele Olowoniyi, was killed by Fulani herdsmen ay Oha village, near Imeko at around 1.30am on Sunday morning, giving this recruitment a fresh sense of urgency.