Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) codenamed Operation Amotekun (Leopard or Cheetah), is a security outfit based in all the six states of the South Western,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, responsible for curbing insecurity in the region. It was founded on 9 January 2020 in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

, Nigeria as the first regional security outfit initiated by a geopolitical zone in Nigeria.

History

Amotekun is a Yoruba word that means "One that looks like a leopard," leopard being translated to "amotekun." Because of this, Amotekun properly means

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

, but as in this case, it is often mistransliterated to leopard. Operation Amotekun (Leopard) was established on 9 January 2020 by the six state governors of all the South Western states of Nigeria, namely;

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

Ondo State Ondo State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Oǹdó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. It borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast, Edo State to the east, Delta State to t ...

Osun State Osun State (; yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Ọ̀ṣun), occasionally known as the State of Osun by the state government, is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states, to the north by Kwara State, to the south by Ogun S ...

and

Ekiti State Ekiti State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkìtì) is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the northeast by Kogi State, to the south and southeast by Ondo State, and to the west by Osun State. Named for the Ekiti peo ...

. The establishment of the security outfit was subject to the decision by all the six state governors at the regional security summit held in

, Nigeria in June 2019 through Development Agenda for

Western Nigeria The former Western State of Nigeria was formed in 1967 when the Western Region was subdivided into the states of Lagos and Western State. Its capital was Ibadan, which was the capital of the old region. In 1976, the state was subdivided into thre ...

Commission (DAWN). In support of the outfit, all the six state governors contributed 20 vehicles each, except Oyo that contributed 33 vehicles, in order to assist the operatives in carrying out their duties, making a total of 133 vehicles for the startup, they also procured 100 units of motorcycles each, making a total of 600 motorcycles. The members of the outfit were drawn from local

hunters Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...

, the

Oodua Peoples Congress The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) is a Yoruba nationalist, regionalist, and vigilante organization in Nigeria. It is also known as the Oodua Liberation Movement (OLM) or the Revolutionary Council of Nigeria. It is based in southwestern Nigeria ...

(OPC), Agbekoya,

Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) is a paramilitary institution in Nigeria that was first introduced in May 2003 by the Nigerian Government, as the Lagos Civil Defence. The act was amended in 2007 to enhance the statutory duties o ...

(NSCDC) and vigilante group.

Operation

The operatives of the security outfit will assist police, other security agencies and traditional rulers in combating terrorism, banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping and also help in settling herdsmen and farmers contentions in the region. For the startup, Lagos, Osun and Ekiti states, recruited 1,320 operatives for the operation, while they will carry dane guns like local hunters, operating in about 52 deadly blackspots all over the southwest region.

Controversy

On 13 January 2020, the

Nigeria police The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency in Nigeria. Designated by the 1999 constitution as the national police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country, as at 2016 it has a s ...

warned that they will arrest any operative of the outfit that carries illegal arms. On 14 January 2020, the Federal government of Nigeria declared Operation Amotekun as an illegal operation, stating that it is not backed by the

Nigerian constitution The Constitution of Nigeria is the written supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria has had many constitutions. Its current form was enacted on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated the Fourth Nigerian Republic. History Nigeria's st ...

. On 23 January 2020, the vice president of Nigeria,

Yemi Osinbajo Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo (born 8 March 1957) is a Nigerian lawyer, professor, and politician who is the 14th and current Vice President of Nigeria since 2015. A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he previously served as Attorney Ge ...

, met with the six state governors of the south western Nigeria and they all agreed to work together towards the progress of Operation Amotekun.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Operation Amotekun Counterterrorism in Nigeria Law enforcement in Nigeria Vigilantes

History

Operation

Controversy

See also

References