The Commandant of Amotekun Corps in Oyo State, Colonel Olayinka Olayanju (retd), has debunked the claims written by one Ibrahim Ramalan in the Daily Nigerian newspaper of February 13, 2021, that operatives of the corps joined hoodlums in attacking Northerners during the Shasha crisis.
Colonel Olayanju, in a statement made available to newsmen in Ibadan, wondered why the reporter was so much in a hurry to go to press without balancing his story as demanded by the ethics of the profession.
“Why was he in a hurry to paint Amotekun Oyo Operatives in bad light so much so that his headline was casted with a vile slant?
“If the chairman of Sasha Market Traders had told him his side of the story, is it not incumbent, responsible and impartial on his part to seek out the other side of the story if there was no malicious intent?
“Our reaction is not to glorify him or his story but to set the records straight and disabuse the mind of his innocent readers.
“Amotekun Oyo operatives responded to a distress call and did what they are set up to do, which is to restore and maintain law and order as well as protect lives and properties of citizens regardless of their tribe, creed or status.
“Let us bring the reporter to speed, the Sarki Sasa Alhaji Haruna Maiyasin welcomed the Commandant, Colonel Olayinka Olayanju (retd) and his entourage warmly and thanked him and his men for their heroic, courageous and patriotic service to protect the Hausa community and other peaceful and law abiding citizens around Sasha and Moniya environ during and after the violence.
“This is good enough to show positive synergy and the exhibition of the impartial parts played by Amotekun operatives in the discharge of their duties.
“There are also pictorial evidences to show the efforts of the ‘vilified’ Amotekun operatives ferrying people to safety and taking some to the hospital during the clashes.
“The report is a poor and simplistic attempt at trying to fan the embers of war that will do the writer and his sponsors no good.
“Amotekun was set up by the governors of the South Western states of Nigeria to complement existing security architecture in the region. Amotekun Oyo is not an ethnic militia or a private army.”
