By Sunday Ameh
The High Court of Ondo State, sitting in Akure, has ruled that the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, lacks the legal authority to unilaterally declare any Nigerian citizen wanted.
The judgment was delivered by the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Justice A. O. Odusola, in consolidated fundamental rights enforcement suits filed by three suspended Amotekun officers—Abu Taiwo, Akinsipe Victor and Ekujimi Julius—against the Commandant of the Corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, and the agency.
The applicants had challenged their suspension and the decision of the Corps to declare them wanted, alleging that they were punished for advocating institutional reforms and demanding the issuance of employment letters to personnel.
They told the court that they were suspended without investigation, disciplinary proceedings or being issued any formal query. They further alleged that following their campaign for reforms, they were subjected to intimidation, including an alleged assassination attempt on one of the applicants, Abu Taiwo, before they were publicly declared wanted during a suspect parade.
Before approaching the court, the applicants said they had petitioned the Ondo State Attorney General, Kayode Ajulo (SAN), and Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa over the alleged threats to their lives and abuse of authority within the Corps but received no intervention.
The respondents had urged the court to dismiss the suits, arguing that the supporting affidavits were incompetent because they were not personally deposed to by the applicants and that the cases disclosed no reasonable cause of action.
Justice Odusola dismissed the preliminary objection, holding that the affidavits were validly sworn to by a person with sufficient knowledge of the facts. The court also held that the suits disclosed a justiciable complaint concerning the enforcement of the applicants’ fundamental rights.
On the substantive issue, the court ruled that the Amotekun Corps has no statutory power to independently declare any Nigerian citizen wanted, stressing that such powers are regulated by law and must be exercised strictly in accordance with legal procedures.
The court noted that counsel to the respondents also conceded that no law empowers the Corps to make such declarations on its own.
Consequently, the court set aside the wanted declaration against the three suspended officers, describing it as unlawful. However, it declined the applicants’ request for damages.
The ruling is being regarded as a significant judicial pronouncement on the limits of the powers of state security agencies and reinforces the principle that actions affecting the liberty, dignity and reputation of citizens must be backed by law.
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