The Osun state Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, Friday, signed into law the state’s Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps Establishment Bill.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor Mallam Ismail Omipidan said the bill was transmitted to the governor by the Speaker of the Osun State house of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, on Thursday evening.
The legislators had on March 3, 2020, passed the bill into law after a public hearing to seek stakeholders’ contributions and suggestions on the bill.
Oyetola, while signing the Bill at the Executive Council Lounge, Government Secretariat, Abere, Osogbo, disclosed that the law signifies a declaration of war on criminals in the state and its environs.
He said the state “Is prepared to go to any legitimate length to ensure that criminals in the state have no breathing space.”
The governor, who noted that the law would complement the Constitution and other laws setting up the various security agencies in guaranteeing the safety and security of the people and their property, expressed confidence that the law would further enhance the profile of Osun as the most peaceful state and preferred investment destination in the country.
Oyetola clarified that before the idea of Amotekun for the South-west was birthed in July, 2019, Osun had already concluded plans to unveil its own security taskforce owing to the government’s desire to make the state commercial hub of the South-west.
He, however, said due to Osun’s commitment to the regional integration objective of the South-west, the state wasted no time in keying into the Amotekun idea for regional security.
Speaking further Oyetola said, “The Bill that is due for signing today is the product of the collective will of the people of Osun acting both by themselves and through their elected representatives. This is a testament to the high premium we place on the security and welfare of the people as an Administration pursuant to the provisions of Section 14 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.”
The governor, therefore, enjoined citizens and residents of the state to “adhere to the spirit and letter of the law and respect the Amotekun personnel as they labour earnestly to protect us and the state.”
He said, “The economic and investment transformation that we promised the people of Osun can only be realised in a secured atmosphere.”
