Former Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on House of Representatives Affairs, Hon Abdulrahman Sulaiman Kawu Sumaila has said that the recent declaration of South-west security outfit Amotekun as illegal by the federal government is a right step.
Speaking to our reporter yesterday, Sumaila said the decision of the federal government to declare Amotekun as illegal outfit would save the country from hatching another dengerous outfit that could lead the country into chaos.
Sumaila said that creation of such regional security outfits would not augur well for the country as an entity.
He explained that such outfit would only aggravate the situation at hand by enhancing ethnicity and disunity among Nigerians.
“If establish, such security outfits could be used to harass people living in other egions which they did not belong to. For instance, there many northerners that are conducting their businesses in the southern part of the country and there are also southerners that are doing their businesses in the north.
“So, there is every tendency that such outfits could be used to harass northerners residing in the south and vice versa. So, formation of regional security outfits would rather divide Nigerians than uniting them.
“My opinion therefore is that regional security outfits should not be established. The call for it should discarded, as it would not add any value to the quest of addressing the insecurity challenges.
“We have witnessed how the Odudua People’s Congress (OPC) turns into something else few years after its formation. Those agitating for the formation of such outfits should rather contribute their qouta towards curtailing the security challenges using the existing security outfits owned by the federal government.
Sumaila suggested that instead of establishing regional security outfits, state governors should rather support the police, DSS, Army, Civil defense and other security agencies to discharge their responsibilities diligently.
He added that the governors should also encourage utilisatiom of traditional institutions in addressing the security challenges facing the country.
The former adviser also called on the federal government to disregard the call, while appealing to the National Assembly to enact a law that would prevent establishment of such outfits in the regions.
He said, “We all know the importance of traditional institurion and the role they have been plying in the area of security, therefore, if government can support these institutions, I have no doubt that things will change for better.”
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