The Southwestern Nigeria Security Network, popular as Amotekun, in Osun State, has been engulfed in crisis as local hunters pulled out of the security outfit, alleging financial impropriety.

Nurein Hammed, the state Coordinator of the hunters, on the platform of Hunters Group of Nigeria, addressed newsmen in Osogbo on Thursday.

Hammed said its members jointly agreed they were short-changed to the tune of N29 million by Osun Amotekun leadership during and after last year’s lockdown in the state.

While demanding for the outstanding balance, he said the group is committed to ensuring adequate security of lives and property of the state, but cannot operate under the present leadership of Amotekun in the state.

“We are unequivocally committed to working with other security agencies to protect the state against criminals.

“We swore on oath to do that but we cannot work with Amotekun to achieve those objectives.

“During the lockdown that was necessitated by Covid-19 pandemic and the EndSARS protest, we mounted several border patrol, as well as maintain peace across the state.

“Eventually, the state government released N44 million to pay our personnel for the services as Amotekun ad hoc staff. But we only got N15 million.

“The then leader is still within the present leadership and we cannot trust the leadership to work towards the same objective with us because they are not under traditional oath as us,” he said.

Efforts to get a reaction of Amotekun Corps Commandant in the state, Brigadier-General Bashir Adewinmbi, proved abortive.

He neither picked calls to his phone line nor responded to a text message sent to him on the incident.

Abdul05:
The looters have it again