THE spate of insecurity and the associated killings of innocent Nigerians in recent times have become a serious concern to the people including governments at all levels in the country. This unprecedented crisis bedeviling the Nigerian society  motivated the Governors of South West States to establish the South West security Network code named ‘Amotekun,’  which has been making serious efforts especially in Ondo State to confront the nagging security problems.

       TO  further improve and enhance security of lives of her citizens, the  State government issued Executive Order 001 of 2022. Prior to the issuance of the order, heinous and criminal decimation of lives of the citizens have been recorded in different parts of the country including Ondo state where the subsisting laws of the land made protection of lives and property the principal responsibility of government.

IT is saddening that in recent times, Ondo State like other states witnessed a spate of kidnappings and high-profile murder of some of her bright and promising citizens. Some of the prominent killings include that of the daughter of erstwhile leader of the Pan Yoruba organization, the Afenifere, Mrs Funke Olakunori,  the murder of a first class monarch, the Olufon of Ifon and the most recent gruesome killings of over 41 worshippers in St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo among others. A responsible government is expected not to sit back and watch the killings of her citizens. Hence, the genuine and sincere move of the Ondo state government to stem this undignified inhumanity of man to man by taking proactive steps to forestall further killings which necessitated the issuance of the executive order.

THE executive order provides for the following: That the owners, occupiers, managers and operators of public/private institutions within Ondo State shall mandatorily install, use and maintain CCTV devices and other secret cameras on a monitor and keep surveillance on the daily activities on their premises and especially monitor the ingress and egress of people/vehicles at the said places, venues and centres.

 That the installed CCTV devices apart from capturing all activities at the public/private institutions must also have data storage hardware and data stored therein should be made available to security agencies whenever it is required.

 That public/private institutions shall employ and maintain well-trained security personnel who shall man the entry and exit points to their various facilities/premises.

 Where necessary, the owners of well-fortified public/private institutions shall erect a well-fortified perimeter fence with a security post at the entry and exit points.

THE  order which is designed to ensure security of lives and properties in all public /private institutions and centres throughout Ondo State and assist the law enforcement agencies in keeping security surveillance on such premises must be supported by all residents and be faithfully obeyed and implemented by the security agencies designated to enforce it. This is because the use of CCTV is not an entirely new practice in public places in Ondo State altogether. The new law will only expand and strengthen its usage to improve security in the state.

TO ensure compliance and faithful implementation of this desirable and well thought out order, Amotekun has indicated that from  August 1,  2022, defaulters shall be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the Executive Order. Concerned organizations should key into the good plans of government geared towards making the state safer by obeying the directive in order to secure lives and property that are being threatened by terrorists and other dangerous elements in recent times. However, the agencies assigned to implement the new order should not abuse the good intention of government by harassing and extorting money from the people.

WHIST  commending the bold efforts of government by these initiatives, the government must take the lead by installing CCTV in strategic places including government establishments and to deploy other more advanced technology such as the drones to assist in securing the state which is the ultimate goal of the Akeredolu’s government. Security requires adequate funding that should be the responsibility of all citizens. The need to create and support the Amotekun security fund becomes incumbent and should be supported by government, private individuals, corporate bodies and other privileged people in the society.

FINALLY,  the state government should not relent in implementing the order. At the moment, the cost of installation is affordable which will make it possible for all concerned establishments to afford installation and those in the business of installation should not seize the opportunity to exploit the people by raising the costs of CCTV equipment.