Ogun begins recruiting Amotekun agents as the pasture crisis escalates.
The Ogun State government has invited interested individuals to join the Amotekun Corps to apply in the wake of the state’s shepherd crisis.
The government said this in a statement Thursday when it called on local warriors, hunters and former military personnel to join the Amotekun corps.
He also noted that available positions include Field Workers, Corps Inspector, Assistant Corps Superintendent, Corps Superintendent, and Assistant Corps Commander.
The government said the application would close on Friday 19 February 2021 and advised interested applicants to apply on the job portal: http://jobs.ogunstate.gov.ng/
Shuaib Salisu, chief of staff for Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, said the establishment of the organization in the state would strengthen the existing security architecture.
He also said that former Police Commissioner David Akinremi was also appointed commander of the security group, adding that the government has purchased 100 patrol cars, 200 motorcycles and communications devices to improve the group’s operations.
Extreme instability in the region has forced six governors of the southwest to open up Western Nigeria’s security system, code-named Amotekun, to address the region’s unique security threats. The Amotekun Corps also enjoyed constitutional support from six state assemblies in the region.
In Ondo, Oyo and Ekiti states, a security team approved by the governments of six southwestern states began operations last year.
The Southwest region recently found itself at the epicenter of a hurricane due to the activities of herders who invade farmland with their livestock, harass farmers, and in some cases kill them. Some pastors were also charged with kidnapping, rape, and other gruesome crimes.
For example, alleged Fulani herders attacked the villages of Ovode-Ketu and Ijun in the Yuva North local government area of Ogun state on Thursday and reportedly killed two people. Thursday’s attack was one of many attacks by shepherds on agricultural communities in the state.
Some governors have banned outdoor grazing, night grazing and juvenile grazing. They also held many talks with the leadership of the Mietti Allah Association of Nigeria Livestock Breeders, which is the pinnacle of the livestock association in the country. Others have explored alternatives to offer a solution to the clash between shepherds and peasants, but there seems to be no end to the heinous crimes perpetrated by nomadic shepherds in host Yoruba communities.
