In fewer than 30 days, Ondo State will hold its gubernatorial election, which has garnered significant attention in recent months.
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Maintaining peace, security, and law and order prior to, during, and following the elections is the principal concern of Ondo State’s citizens and indigenous people, as well as outside observers. Since its founding four (4) years ago by the late and former Governor Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the Ondo State Security Network (codenamed AMOTEKUN) has demonstrated itself to be a positive influence in the state.
All Nigerians are being reassured by Corps Commander Adetunji Adeleye, who is responsible for overseeing the AMOTEKUN Corps, that his men will play sufficient supporting roles to the main security agencies overseeing Nigeria’s elections. This was revealed in an exclusive interview with the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), a security beats association headed by National President Oki O. Samson.
The association was visiting the Amotekun Headquarters to get a firsthand look at the state’s security situation before the governorship election on November 16. Regarding the role of the AMOTEKUN Corps in the upcoming elections, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, who also serves as the Chairman of the Council of AMOTEKUN Corps Commanders in the Southwest, which includes the states of Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, and Ondo, promised that his organization would follow the law and be mindful of its obligations outside of the electoral arena.
“This is not the first election that Amotekun will participate in,” he stated. However, we are aware that other security forces, such as the Nigeria Police, the Civil Defense, the DSS, and others, will mobilize in large numbers, primarily for elections. To keep the house open during elections, they actually bring in officers and men from other states to maintain security. However, we provide protection in the background on the roads, on the routes, and outside the electoral arena.
We give our men instructions not to participate completely, but to provide exterior security and make sure there is no void in any areas where soldiers, police officers, civil defense, or DSS are not present. We also offer assistance when it comes to moving election materials, and we will be happy to help in any other locations where the sister agencies require our teamwork.
“I want to reassure residents of Ondo State that the election will be peaceful,” the diligent Corps Commander of the Ondo State AMOTEKUN Corps continued. They ought to act in a nonviolent manner. No, this is no longer the pattern of thuggery during elections. I would like to advise the young people to behave in a calm manner. Since only you will be imprisoned when conflict arises, they should not permit any politician to exploit them as tools to incite unrest.
Because of their personality, they won’t even want you to mention their name. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense for someone who won’t send his kid off to become a gangster to pay you 10 kobo to do so. “You cannot be used as a political thug, and our youths should be well-informed.” “Not only Amotekun, but all security agencies will be present to ensure that the election is held in a completely peaceful atmosphere.” Akogun Adetunji Adeleye made a suggestion on the recruitment and training of AMOTEKUN Corps members: “We don’t joke with our trainings because that is the only way we can be sure that we keep tabs on the modern trends.”
We do our state-wide security review twice a day, as you may have noticed when you first arrived. Every morning and evening, we do it. We go on patrol every day, including Sundays, from 9 to 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. We have drones, tracking devices, and duty officers with specific responsibilities. We have the DSS tracking with us in addition to our own tracking.
Some of the items that help us stay on top of the security situation are those. Adetunji Adeleye, the Head of the highly acclaimed and successful AMOTEKUN Corps in Ondo State, described his personal duties as follows: “It is 24 hours, physically I’m in the office for 18 hours everyday.” I choose a senatorial district to tour the city. I travel from here to Oka, Isua, and return by five in the morning if I’m heading north today.
It might be South tomorrow, then Central on the third day. Since I do that, there is no chance that you will arrive at the AMOTEKUN post and not run into them there because they are aware of the consequences and won’t know when I will arrive. People in Ondo state are sleeping with their eyes closed because if I catch you dozing, you’ll go to jail.
