Recently reappointed Otunba Tunji Adeleye is the Commander, Ondo State Security Network Agency, as well as the chairman of the Commanders of Amotekun in the South West. This Amotekun ‘Field Marshal’ leads the battle from the front on the frontline when it comes to war with bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers and other miscreants.
He shares his highs and lows on the job with Zapexpressnews’ PADE OLAPOJU:
Congratulations on your re-appointment as the Commander, Ondo State Security Network Agency. How has it been heading such an organization?
Well, let’s start from what Amotekun is. I want to take your mind back to 2020 when, in the wisdom of the governors of the South western states, they came together to discuss the rising insecurity in the South West. And to forestall a situation where we will be in the same shoes with what is happening in the North East, they decided to look for a home-grown solution to the dwindling security situation and came up with the Western Nigeria Security Network Agency (Amotekun).
At that time, the Federal Government was not comfortable with the Western Nigeria Security Network Agency because they looked at it as a regional force. After so much troubles, they settled that each of the states in the South West should legislate and come up with a law backing individual state security network agency. And that is what gave birth to Ondo State Security Agency Network, Ekiti, Ogun, Osun and Oyo states security network agencies and the Lagos state security network agency.
Coming back to Ondo State, when we started, the security situation was terribly bad. Farmers could no longer go to their farms, businessmen could not open shops after 5pm. if you went to banks, you were not sure of getting back home safely before you are robbed, and a lot of terrible security situations were ravaging the state.
The first security problem that we faced headlong as Corps Commander, Ondo State Security Network Agency was tackling the farmers-herders clashes which was topmost. At that time, we received over 5,000 petitions in just one month. So, we decided to do public enlightenment before enforcement. We enlightened the farmers and the herders. We brought the leaderships of Miyetti Allah and farmers together and we all agreed with the security agencies that farmers have a right to their farms while herders have a right to their cattle, but they don’t have a right to destroy another person’s property. And once you do it, you’ll pay for what you destroyed and you also face the wrath of the law.
Thereafter, we commenced enforcement. And you know what it takes to seize a cow from a Fulani herder. In our first month, we arrested over 2,000 cows, and that sent enough signal to the others that they should behave.
Another problem that we faced was the ritual of bank robberies every December. As Corps Commander and, at that time, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, I ensured we put an end to the problem of bank robberies every December. We did our strategic planning and I can tell you that since then till now, there’s been no successful bank robbery in Ondo State. The only one that happened about three years ago, we faced the robbers headlong and foiled the robbery. That must have sent enough signal to criminals that the Amotekun Corps in Ondo State meant business and has zero tolerance for crime.
Are you also the head of Amotekun in the South West?
My appointment is Corps Commander, Ondo State Security Network Agency. But all we Corps Commanders meet regularly. In one of our meetings, I was appointed the chairman of the Commanders in the South West. That’s why I join my colleagues to look at security situation generally in the South West.
The South West is believed to be the most secured of all the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. Is insecurity in the south West a myth or a reality?
Generally, insecurity in Nigeria, especially the South West is a reality. South West is peaceful now because of the joint efforts of security agencies generally, not Amotekun Corps alone. We have the Army, the DSS, the Police, Civil Defence and Amotekun in the South West. The synergy that exists among these agencies helps a lot in ensuring that the South West remains safe. If you look at the situation about four years ago, you hardly could travel from Ibadan to Ilesha without being robbed or kidnapped on the way. Between 2021 and 2022, Amotekun rescued over 200 kidnap and armed robbery victims, while goods worth hundreds of millions of naira were retrieved from the miscreants and returned to the owners.
You may be thinking why were the robberies rampant? It is because during the festive period, people travel a lot and move goods heavily. These armed robbers and kidnappers take advantage of this. Insecurity in the South West is not a myth. But generally speaking, South West is relatively safe, in fact, the safest region in the country for now.
Does Amotekun have any connectivity with other security outfits in other regions?
No. We work with the statutory Federal Government security agencies in our region
Amotekun is visible in all the South West states, except Lagos. Why is this so?
Lagos has Neighbourhood Watch which was established before Amotekun came on board. Neighbourhood Watch has a mandate that is different from Amotekun’s. The global mandate of the two outfits is to provide security, but the modus operandi of Amotekun is different to that of the Neighbourhood Watch. Their equipment is different from ours and the caliber of people they recruit is different. So, there are a lot of differences between Lagos State Security Agency and Amotekun Corps.
Lagos State has seen what Amotekun can do, especially what we’ve been doing in Ondo State and they are showing very serious interest in emulating what is being done in the other five states of the South West. So, we encourage them to come on board of Amotekun so that we can be together.
Is Amotekun active on waterways?
Of course, we are! Ondo State has the largest coastal waterway in Nigeria. Amotekun has the amphibious unit called the Armored Rangers. The governor gave us the go-ahead to start what is called the Armored Rangers whose statutory duty is either to operate on water as amphibious unit or stay and operate in the forests permanently in ensuring that nefarious and criminal activities don’t take place there. We are in Ilaje, Ese Odo. I’m not sure if Ogun Command is on the waterways yet, but the Ondo-Ogun border patrol, for now, is on the expressway
Can you share some of the challenges you have faced on this job in the past four years?
The major one is equipment. Some of the equipment we would have loved to have are on the exclusive list which only the Federal Government can give approval for. Unfortunately, the criminals or bandits that we go to battle with daily have access (albeit illegal) to these equipment. That is why we are appealing that the only solution to insecurity in Nigeria and globally is to start state policing. States should design their solution to their security problems and challenges so that they can stay in peace.
What about your exciting moments on the job?
There are so many. There was a day we were in Aladaba area of Ondo State to rescue some kidnap victims. The kidnappers had mounted on cows and crossed the river. Because we were bent on rescuing the victims, we had to tie a rope from one end of the river’s bank to the other and swim to meet them. We were able to rescue the kidnapped victims and arrested the kidnappers who are cooling their heels in the correctional centre now. Though the job is challenging, it is quite interesting too.
This is a high-risk job. How do you feel going out every day to confront potent dangers?
I pray to God every day before going out. I surrender myself and my men to God and I look forward to coming back home alive. We’ve been ambushed more than ten times, surrounded by criminals shooting at us, but God has always saved us.
With the success of the security outfit, fake people would want to infiltrate the ranks. How can one identify a fake Amotekun from a genuine officer?
A genuine Amotekun officer would go about with our ID card, our coded uniform, etc. we have never recorded cases of fake Amotekun in Ondo State except people who impersonate, in a bid to extort money from people. But our genuine officers have never been accused of collecting bribes.
People say they trust Amotekun more than Police. Why is this so?
I think you should ask the people why this is so. But what I can tell you is that we enjoy the confidence of the populace. In the last couple of years, we’ve been able to compress our response to distress to almost one, two minutes to one hour. Our men are strategically located all over the state such that when we receive any distress call on 08079999989, the caller gets respite immediately anywhere.
So, what happened in Owo, where worshippers were massacred in a Catholic church. Was Amotekun caught napping?
On that day, we had a kidnap case early in the morning on the other side of Owo around 7a.m. and our men moved to rescue the victims. We never suspected it was a ploy to distract us. We were far in the forest when the massacre took place at about 8:30 a.m. or 9 a.m. Before we came back, the damage had been done. We were about the only security agency that trailed the bandits to the forest where they escaped to. Apart from being in possession of their getaway vehicle, security agencies were able to arrest a good number of suspects that are undergoing various levels of interrogation years after.
What are the limitations of Amotekun?
Amotekun is limited by a lot of factors. The staff strength is one. Two, we are just going to be five years old. You can’t compare us with the Police that is over 100 years in Nigeria or 30 years old Civil Defence. I think Amotekun has fulfilled globally the purpose for which it was established, which is mainly to provide security and compliment the efforts of other security agencies.
In Ondo State, Amotekun investigates, arrests and prosecutes offenders. We have secured several convictions in the last few years. We have understanding with the Police and other security agencies and we know and keep to our limitations.
Our synergy with the Police, DSS, Army and Civil Defence in Ondo State is fantastic. Only this morning, I tracked some kidnappers to a location at Ifedore local government. I got the location from the DSS, which they voluntarily gave me. We work together and we are able to make a difference.
How can you access your performance in the past four years?
Ah, we can’t access ourselves. It is the people that will do that. But I know the purpose for which Amotekun was created has been fully justified, reducing crime to the barest minimum in the South West and complimenting the efforts of other security angencies in doing so.
How do you deal with bad eggs in the outfit?
There’s no organization without bad eggs. Out of every 12, there must be a Judas. We have a unit that handles indiscipline and overbearing officers. They go through the normal orderly room trial. We have dismissed some officers in the recent past, while some erring ones were put in custody. There are various forms of punishments to keep erring officers on their toes.
