Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has said that a bill on Operation Amotekun – the security outfit launched by leaders of the Southwest – would be signed into law on Friday, February 14.
Fayemi made this known on Monday, when the draft bill on the security outfit was submitted to him by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Wale Fapounda, at the Government House, Ado-Ekiti.
According to the governor, the draft bills would have been ready across the other states in the region, preparatory to their passage by the respective states House of Assembly, to give the outfit a legal backing.
The governor said the idea of coming up with a law on Amotekun was one of the outcomes of last month’s meeting between the governors, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
At the meeting they all agreed that appropriate legal frameworks must first be put in place by the governors.
Fayemi said: “By Friday 14th of February, the bills would have been ready and signed into laws simultaneously across the six states in the region.
“A lot of people misconstrued what the Amotekun initiative is all about.
“It is not an exclusive protection for the indigenes alone, but for the safety and security of every citizen and resident in the six states, regardless of where they may have come from, and as long as they are legally resident and respect the law of the land.
“It is within the jurisdiction of our responsibility to ensure the safety of lives and property.
“Amotekun is a complementary effort to the community policing initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I want to assure you that it will be given accelerated discussion at our various state executive councils and expeditious passage at the state Houses of Assembly.
“To let you know how serious we are, some states had quickly recalled their lawmakers back from recess, so that they can sit and debate the bill.”
Earlier, the Ekiti Attorney General had said the bill put together by the state had sought for the security network to be known as “Amotekun Corps.”
He said: “The Corps is to assist in maintaining law and order in Ekiti State.
“In the past two weeks, the AGs from the six states have been working on how to provide enabling legal frameworks for our joint security network.
“After the draft bills were produced, we said we will present the draft to our governors for discussion at the State Executive Council meeting and the Houses of Assembly will then pass it.
“The guidelines for the security agency proposed 38 provisions.
“It involves the establishment of the Ekiti State Security agency called ‘Amotekun Corps.’
“It also contained establishment of Governing Board for the Ekiti State Amotekun Corps.
“It also makes a proposal for the establishment of the Independent Amotekun Complaints Board, so people can report cases of abuses of power and corruption.
“We will also put the draft on the website for interested members of the public to comment on it.”
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