Amotekun funding and welfare challenges threaten South West Nigeria regional security outfit
Amotekun, the regional security outfit for South West Nigeria, is facing serious challenges that threaten its ability to maintain security in the region. Five years after its establishment, the organization is struggling with funding constraints, inadequate equipment, poor welfare conditions, and weak coordination among the six South Western states. Security experts have identified legal limitations as one of Amotekun's biggest operational challenges. Unlike the police and military, Amotekun operatives are barred from carrying certain weapons and face restrictions on access to critical resources. The outfit was founded on January 9, 2020, in Ibadan, Oyo State, as the first regional security initiative initiated by a geopolitical zone in Nigeria. The Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Operation Amotekun, which means Leopard or Cheetah in Yoruba, covers all six states of South Western Nigeria but the Federal Government declared it an illegal operation […]
