Amotekun must not become another SARS, Soyinka warns

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has said conscious efforts must be made to ensure the security outfit, South-West Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, does not become another Special Anti-Robbery Squad, an arm of the Nigeria Police Force that was recently disbanded due to the excesses of its operatives.

There have been allegations of recklessness and extrajudicial killings against operatives of the security outfit, especially in Oyo State.

Indeed, many people were Saturday said to have been killed and houses razed in a clash between the security outfit and herdsmen in the state.

But speaking on Saturday, on a programme on Arise TV, Soyinka said Amotekun corps needed to be trained to understand the essence of their job.

He said Amotekun operatives must be trained on ethics so that they would not become brutal and ruthless like men of the defunct police unit, SARS.

He said, “I have told them anytime you want us to come and assist, we will come even if it is just on the ethical session so that as you are training them to defend us, we are also training their minds so that Amotekun does not become another SARS, very important. We must do everything together.”

While Amotekun operatives have started operations in Ondo and Oyo state, Soyinka urged other states in the South-West region yet to launch their security outfits to do so quickly as he noted that the challenge of insecurity had reached a “stage of desperation”.