Fayemi signs Amotekun bill into law bringing number of states where it is legal to four

EKITI State's Governor Kayode Fayemi has become the fourth governor across the southwest geo-political zone to sign the bill creating the regional security outfit known as the Amotekun Corps into law.

This afternoon, Governor Fayemi signed the bill into law at Government House in the state capital Ado-Ekiti, with a warning to criminals to stay away from Ekiti. He is now the fourth governor to append his signature to the bill alongside governors Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State.

Speaking at the signing, Governor Fayemi said security and the well-being of the people remained the primary objective of his administration. He added that the creation of the Amotekun security network was a child of necessity, considering the challenges Ekiti and the other states of the southwest are facing.

Governor Fayemi said: "Amotekun is designed to track and deal with criminals not just in the state but also in the region. Amotekun will get them and they will be prosecuted."

On February 14, the Ekiti State House of Assembly became the first legislature in the southwest geo-political zone to pass the Amotekun bill. However, under the dictates of Nigeria's constitution, state governors need to append their signatures to such bills before they become legal.

Over recent years, heavily-armed herdsmen have been running riot across Nigeria, engaging in kidnapping, armed robbery and banditry. To address the problem, the governors from across the southwest geo-political zone decided to launch a regional security outfit named Amotekun, which translates to leopard in the local Yoruba language.

With governors Fayemi, Akeredolu, Makinde and Oyetola now signing the bill into law, it just remains for their Ogun and Lagos state counterparts to join them before the process is completed. It is expected that Governors Dapo Abiodun and Babajide Sanwoolu will sign the bill later this week as it has already been passed by their state houses of assemblies.