Barely 24 hours after “Amotekun” was launched in Southwest, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, has thrown his weight behind it, saying it is nothing to worry about.
He said a similar security outfit for the North was in the offing.
According to the governor, the latest gunmen attack that left no fewer than 13 persons dead in Mangu Council Area of the state necessitates going back to the drawing board to find a lasting solution to insecurity.
He spoke while briefing State House Correspondents after he had an audience with President Muhammadu Buhari, on the attack.
PerSecondnews recalls that Southwest governors had on December 9 launched the Western Nigeria Security Network (codenamed: ‘Operation Amotekun’, (Leopard), the first of its kind in the country.
On whether the governors in the North-central will tow the line of their colleagues in the Southwest to set up a security outfit, Lalong said: “When you talk about North-central, I am chairman of Northern governors forum, we have taken a decision sometime last year.
“You will recall that at one time we met the president and we told him what we were doing. We set up committees and the committees have worked very hard.
“You will recall that we started our meeting from the northwest in Katsina, we are going back to have another meeting in north central.
“The situation in the south might not be the same with the north but in the north we are also looking at some ways that will also address these issues.
“So we have gone ahead to set up committees, those committees have done their work and we are going to meet to address these issues once and for all.
“Two, we have also agreed to key into the community policing and at the level of the committee we have already gone far.”
According to him, each state is already neck deep in community policing.
He added:”But I have not read the document, I cannot claim to have read the details of that document, to understand what they mean by Amotekun.
“I saw various vehicles that were bought but you know if it’s about vehicles, many vehicles have been bought in the north. I bought almost 100 vehicles and gave to the police but that is not what will address the insecurity in my state.
“So, it may vary from south to the north but in the north we are trying to look for a comprehensive ways that will help augment what the federal government is doing in respect to insecurity.”
On his visit to the President, Lalong said: “I have just seen Mr. President and there was also an attack early yesterday (Thursday) and up to the afternoon when I got there.
“My seeing the President was to brief him because there are usually briefings from the security agencies, he usually has proper briefings from the chief security officer direct.
” From my own assessment of what has happened and if we want intervention of what we want to be done in the state to curtail the situation.
“So, as a matter of fact we woke up yesterday early in the morning to get information that people were killing themselves in a village. So I didn’t waste time, I took off to that village. My timely intervention and presence helped a lot.
“Because, after the first set of killings, the second set was reprisals killings. So when I got there I very thin to stopped.
“I spoke to the people, we buried the people and they understood with me and the place has remained calm, peace has been restore to that place.”
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