Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Minister of Aviation has attacked the Federal Government of Nigeria for describing the ‘establishment of Amotekun’ as illegal, through a statement recently credited to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
Starnews had reported that the FG through Malami said that: “the setting up of the paramilitary organization called “Amotekun” is illegal and runs contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian law”.
Though he didn’t mention names, but apparently reacting to the statement credited to Malami, on Thursday, through his verified Twitter page, Fani-Kayode wrote:
“You killed Funke Olakunrin & thousands of others over the last 4 years. We refused to retaliate, we mourned our dead & shed our tears quietly & with dignity & we hid our pain.
Now you tell us that we have no right to defend ourselves and that Amotekun must go. To hell with you!”
Meanwhile, reactions have continued to trail the statement credited to Malami over the declaration of Amotekun as illegal.
Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo, says the constitution does not prohibit the establishment of a regional security outfit.
Akeredolu, chairman of the south-west governors’ forum, said the region will go ahead with the initiative, saying that laws are not made in the office of the Attorney General. He insisted that the region will go ahead with the initiative.
Chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay, has declared the establishment of Operation Amotekun by Southwest governors as legal and in line with their constitutional role as chief security officers of their states.
His position opposed that of the Justice Minister and Attorney-general of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who declared the security outfit illegal.
A former Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Jumoke Akindele, has said that the Amotekun initiative is as legal as Nigeria States Houses of Assembly are. Akindele described the Federal Government as being hypocritical about Amotekun’s establishment in South west states of Nigeria.
Just yesterday, Gani Adams, the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, replied Malami in an open letter over the declaration of Amotekun as illegal.
I find it disturbing your statement of Tuesday January 14, 2020 declaring the security initiative of South-West governors ‘Amotekun’ as illegal.
You also threatened that the full course of the law will be applied to anybody promoting the Amotekun security initiative.
Maybe you have forgotten. I need to remind you that you are the Attorney-General of the country, not a section of the country.
So, your outburst against the governors who were elected, not selected or appointed, is against the spirit of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The right to life is universal and no government can legislate against that. I don’t need to bother you about killings, kidnappings, banditry and other criminal vices in the South-West recently.
Even Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, the daughter of Yoruba leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, was killed and nobody has been arrested in respect of all these killings.
One thing is clear: Nigerians have the right to protect themselves. Not only that: South-West people have a right to protect and defend themselves against attacks, the openly letter partly reads.
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