Afenifere leader says Owo attack would have been averted if Amotekun were armed

AFENIFERE leader Chief Ayo Adebanjo has called for members of the Amotekun Security Corps to be well armed ion the future pointing that it they were, the recent Owo massacre in which about 40 people were slaughtered in a church would have been averted.

 

Last Sunday, armed gunmen opened fire on worshippers at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo in Ondo State, in an inexplicable attack. In response to the growing insecurity across Nigeria, in 2020, the state houses of assemblies in the six states of the southwest geo-political zone passed by-laws making Amotekun a legal and constitutional entity.

 

However, Amotekun is not a fully fledged state police force as not all its members are armed and any operative who wants to serve in the regional security outfit Amotekun must get a letter of recommendation from his or her divisional police officer and local government chairman attesting to their good character. According to Chief Adebanjo, the attack could have been averted if the Amotekun Corps were allowed to carry weapons.

 

He stated this while leading a delegation of Afenifere to commiserate with Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and the people of Ondo State over carnage. Chief Adebanjo said if the Ondo State government was in total control of the state’s security, the terrorists’ planned attack would have been detected before the dastardly act was carried out.

 

Furthermore, the Afenifere leader reiterated the call for the immediate establishment of state police, adding that the Amotekun should be allowed to carry weapons. he stressed that Nigerians in the southwest would be better protected if Amotekun personnel were allowed to bear arms.

 

No fewer than 40 persons out of the 127 involved in the attack were killed, leaving 61 survivors currently on admission in different hospitals and 26 already discharged. On the good side, the police have already arrested several of the suspects who are believed to have carried out the ghastly attack.

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