Amotekun Meant To Protect, Not Kill —Senator Fadahunsi Justifies Sealing Osun Bases, Vows Legal Fight

Senator Francis Fadahunsi, representing Osun East (Ife/Ijesa), has justified the sealing of the Amotekun Corps operational bases in the state insisting that the regional security outfit had degenerated into a threat to the very people it was established to protect.

Speaking with journalists on Friday, the Senator said he acted after repeated reports of brutality and killings allegedly carried out by Amotekun operatives in his Senatorial district, particularly in Akinlalu Community.

“The Amotekun office has become the home of murderers, not protecting the community. The Amotekun officers are disturbing the peace of the state,” Fadahunsi declared, describing the closures as an emergency response to prevent further violence.

According to him, “From February to date, I’ve lost 12 people to Amotekun’s killing. After causing trouble for Ijesa South and Ijesa North, they now went to Ife to kill people in Akinlalu. Do they expect me to keep quiet as the Senator representing the district? I will not keep quiet. They would not kill a single goat in my area again. If they send them to go and destabilize my own Senatorial District, I will not allow it.”

The Senator was reacting to a press statement signed by the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Wale Egbedun, which described the sealing of Amotekun’s offices as unlawful and politically motivated.

In a statement issued on Friday, Egbedun, alleged that “credible reports” linked the action to political interference “allegedly instigated by Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi in collaboration with former Governor and Minister of Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola.”

Egbedun warned that, “If proven true, such actions constitute a reckless abuse of political influence and a gross betrayal of the people of Osun State, whose safety and security must never be reduced to a political manoeuvre.”

Observers say the Speaker’s admission of the Akinlalu killings lends credence to Fadahunsi’s claim that the Senator’s action was motivated by genuine concern for his constituents’ safety, not political rivalry.

Critics also say the development raises a sharper question about accountability and discipline within state-level security outfits that were set up after years of insecurity: Amotekun units were established by South-West governors as a community-based supplementary security force intended to protect lives and property, support police efforts, and restore confidence in local safety. The corps’ founding purpose—community protection and respect for human rights—stands in stark contrast to the allegations levelled by Fadahunsi.

Those who back Fadahunsi argue the Senator’s actions reflect a duty to defend constituents and to restore the original purpose of Amotekun.

“The Amotekun are supposed to protect the territorial integrity of the state, not to start terrorising people,” he said, framing his response as an insistence that the security architecture serve the people rather than intimidate them.

The Senator also signalled he will pursue all lawful avenues to safeguard his constituents.

Observers note his pledge to deploy “every legal means” marks an escalation from complaint to planned legal and legislative pressure on the corps and the state authorities that oversee it. Fadahunsi’s comments make clear he sees the sealing not as political theatre but as a protective measure backed by the coercive weight of his office.

The unfolding confrontation exposes deep tension between community expectations and the conduct of locally-established security forces.

For many residents, Amotekun’s promise was simple: protect people, not become a source of fear.

Now, with allegations of extra-judicial killings and a senator’s direct intervention, pressure is mounting on Osun State to investigate the incidents transparently, hold perpetrators accountable, and reassert the corps’ founding mandate.

Fadahunsi’s ultimatum leaves little room for ambiguity: unless Amotekun returns to its protective role, he says he will continue to use his authority to stop what he describes as a campaign of violence in his senatorial district.

The challenge for state authorities now is to reconcile the need for local security structures with strict oversight and respect for citizens’ rights — otherwise the protector risks becoming the persecutor.