Personality in Focus
Ondo 2024: Amotekun Assures Security Outside Election Area
The Ondo state gubernatorial election which has gathered a lot of attention over the past months is now less than 30 days. The fears of Ondo state indigenes and residents and of course, watchers from outside the state is mostly about maintaining peace, security, law, and order before, during, and after the elections.
The Ondo State Security Network (codenamed AMOTEKUN) has proven to be a force for good in the state since its establishment four (4) years ago by the late and former Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. The man saddled with the responsibility of leading the AMOTEKUN Corps, Corps Commander Adetunji Adeleye is assuring all Nigerians that his men will provide adequate supporting roles to the primary security agencies in charge of elections in Nigeria. He made this known in an exclusive interview with the security beats association, National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP) led by the National President, Oki O. Samson during the association’s visit to the Amotekun Headquarters for a firsthand assessment tour of the security situation in the state ahead of the 16th November governorship election.
On the role that the AMOTEKUN Corps will play in the forthcoming elections, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye who doubles as the Chairman of Council of AMOTEKUN Corps Commanders in the Southwest (comprising Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, and Ondo states) assured that his agency will play by the rules and be alive to its responsibility outside of the election arena. He noted: ‘This is not the first election that Amotekun will partake in. But we do know that mainly for elections, other security agencies like the Nigeria Police, the Civil Defence, the DSS, and so on will move in en masse. In fact, they bring officers and men from other states to ensure security during elections, so the house is open.’
‘But in the background we provide security, outside the election arena, on the routes, and on the road. We instruct our men that they are not to partake fully but to provide external security and ensure that all those places where policemen, Civil Defence, DSS, soldiers are not present, they should make sure there is no vacuum. When it is time to move election materials, we also provide support and any other places where the sister agencies need our collaborative effort we will gladly assist.’
The hardworking Corps Commander of the Ondo State AMOTEKUN Corps added: ‘I want to assure residents of Ondo State that the election is going to be peaceful. They should conduct themselves in a peaceful way. This is no longer the trend for thuggery during election, no it is gone.’
‘I want to tell the youths that they should comport themselves in a peaceful way. They should not allow any politician to use them as instruments to foment trouble because when the trouble comes, you alone will go to jail. They will not even want you to mention their name because of their personality. So somebody who will not put his child to go and become a thug, why is he paying you 10 kobo to become a thug, it doesn’t make sense.’
‘Our youths should be well informed, you cannot be used as a political thug and the law enforcement agencies will be there, not only Amotekun, all security agencies are there to ensure the election is conducted in a totally peaceful atmosphere.’
On how they recruit and train members of the AMOTEKUN Corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye hinted: ‘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. If you observe when you came in, we do our security review of the whole state twice a day. We do it every morning and every night. By 9-11am, 12 midnight we go on patrol everyday including Sundays.’
‘We have duty officers who have their roles to play, we have drones and equipment for tracking. We do our own tracking and we also have the DSS tracking with us. Those are some of the things that get us on top of the security situation.’
On what he personally does as the Head of the very effective and highly praised AMOTEKUN Corps in Ondo State, Adetunji Adeleye said: ‘It is 24 hours, physically I’m in the office for 18 hours everyday. I pick a senatorial district to go round the metropolis. If I’m going to the North today, I go from here to Oka, Isua and come back by 5 am. Tomorrow it could be South, third day it could be Central. That’s what I do, so there’s no way you will get to the AMOTEKUN post that you will not meet them there because they will not know when I’ll come, and they know the implications. If I meet you sleeping you go to jail, that’s why people are sleeping with their two eyes closed in Ondo state.’
The Executive Secretary/CEO of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan, has congratulated the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, on the occasion of his birthday, commending his visionary leadership and reform-driven approach to policing in Nigeria.
In his birthday remarks, Dr. Ogunsan described the IGP as a “distinguished officer whose career has consistently reflected professionalism, courage, and a deep commitment to public safety.”
He noted that since assuming office as the 23rd Inspector-General of Police early this Year 2026, Disu has demonstrated a clear resolve to reposition the Nigeria Police Force towards greater efficiency and public trust.
Dr. Ogunsan particularly praised the IGP’s emphasis on intelligence-led policing, a strategy aimed at enhancing proactive crime detection and prevention, as well as his push for the integration of digital tools and forensic capabilities into police operations. These reforms, he said, signal a shift towards modern, accountable, and citizen-focused policing.
He further highlighted Disu’s decisive steps to strengthen the state policing agenda and officers’ welfare. He praised him for the effective policing model through the restructuring and reduction of tactical units, a move designed to address concerns over excesses while redeploying personnel to police divisions for improved community-level security.
The LSSTF boss also acknowledged the IGP’s consistent advocacy for discipline, integrity, and professionalism within the Force, noting that such values are critical to restoring public confidence and enhancing institutional credibility.
Reflecting on his track record, Dr. Ogunsan recalled Disu’s impactful leadership roles across key commands, including the Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory Commands, where he contributed significantly to crime control and intelligence-driven operations.
His tenure as the Commander of the Rapid Response Squad in Lagos is a testament to his operational excellence and urban crime management.
Ogunsan wished the IGP good health, wisdom, and continued success in his efforts to build a more secure Nigeria. “On this special occasion, we celebrate not only a remarkable leader but a reformer whose vision continues to inspire confidence in the security architecture of our nation,” Ogunsan said.
Terrorists in northeast Nigeria killed a brigadier general in an assault on a military base, a local government chairman told AFP on Thursday, the second killing of a high-ranking officer in five months.
Africa’s most populous country has been fighting a terrorist insurgency for 17 years, since Boko Haram’s 2009 uprising, which has seen the emergence of powerful splinter groups, including Islamic State West Africa Province.
In an overnight attack, unidentified terrorists killed at least 18 soldiers and torched vehicles at a base in Benisheikh, about 75 kilometres from Borno state capital Maiduguri, an intelligence source told AFP.
“Unfortunately, the brigade commander, Brigadier General O.O. Braimah, lost his life,” Kaga Local Government Chairman Zannah Lawan Ajimi told AFP in a phone interview.
Two intelligence sources confirmed Braimah’s death to AFP.
His death follows the killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba by ISWAP in November. He was the highest-ranking military official to die in the long-running conflict since 2021.
“They overran the brigade,” one of the intelligence sources said, giving the death toll as “at least” 18.
The second intelligence source said that “the terrorists killed several troops” and “burnt vehicles and buildings before they withdrew,” without giving a toll.
The army and Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
– Rising terrorist violence –
Researchers have warned of an uptick of violence since 2025.
Borno capital Maiduguri has seen two suicide bombings since December — the type of bloody, urban attacks reminiscent of the insurgency’s peak a decade ago.
On Wednesday, the US State Department said in a notice it was authorising “non-emergency US government employees” to leave Abuja “due to the deteriorating security situation”.
While the insurgency is concentrated in the northeastern countryside, terrorists from Nigeria and the neighbouring Sahel have made inroads western Nigeria, where organised crime gangs known as “bandits” have been raiding villages and extorting farmers and artisanal miners for years.
Gunmen killed at least 90 people across several remote villages in northwest Nigeria this week, according to an AFP tally of tolls given by local and humanitarian sources.
Among the attacks was an assault in Kebbi state that police blamed a local terrorist group known as Mahmuda, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
Kebbi sits on Nigeria’s border with Benin and Niger and since 2025 has been targeted by a rising number of terrorist attacks.
Conflict monitor ACLED says there has been a surge in violence in the area carried out by militants affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
In nearby Kwara state, in October, fighters from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM claimed an attack after years of researchers warning that the terrorist conflict ravaging the Sahel risked spreading south towards coastal West African states.
In December, the United States, with Nigerian assistance, bombed northwest Sokoto state, targeting Islamic State Sahel Province fighters usually found in neighbouring Niger, along with Mali and Burkina Faso.
AFP
A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the 2023 Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has argued that President Bola Tinubu has no pathway to re-election in 2027.
Rhodes-Vivour, who appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, said data from credible polls indicate that Tinubu will not win next year’s presidential election.
“I have looked at data, we have polling that is going on now, credible polling — there is no pathway for the president to emerge victorious, that is why we are seeing all these shenanigans,” he said.
He added: “There is no pathway for him. When you look at the North that gave him 62 per cent of his votes, you see the tsunami that is happening in the North. You have a president that created a government system that is just for the city boys. It is a city boys’ government. It’s not even a proper South-West government; it’s his cronies that are just in charge.”
The Lagos politician blamed the president for the crisis affecting opposition parties, including the ADC.
According to him, having assessed that the odds are against him ahead of the 2027 polls, the president is resorting to instigating crises within opposition ranks as a strategy to retain power.
“So, the best pathway is to create an environment where he is the only candidate on the ballot for the presidency. That is what he is trying to achieve, but he is not going to succeed,” he said.
Last week, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) removed the names of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as chairman and secretary of the ADC from its portal, citing a court order to maintain the status quo.
The party has faulted INEC’s decision, alleging that the electoral body misinterpreted the court order. Since then, the ADC leadership has held a world press conference to reject the move.
Earlier on Tuesday, prominent members of the party staged a “Save Nigeria Democracy” protest at INEC headquarters in Abuja. Among those present were Peter Obi; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi; former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; former President of the Senate, David Mark; former Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola; and former Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, among others.
Hundreds of supporters, including members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, also participated in the protest.
