Amotekun can use guns like hunters, says ex-police commissioner

A former Lagos State Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, says the new South-West security outfit, Amotekun, will be allowed to carry Dane guns just like the way hunters are allowed to do.

Owoseni, who is the Special Adviser to the Oyo State Governor on Security, said this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday.

When asked if the Amotekun would be allowed to use Dane guns, he said, “(Yes) if it is necessary for them to use in some instances because hunters do carry their Dane guns with their dogs. Those are their tools and it is not illegal.”

He, however, explained that the Amotekun would not run a detention facility but would purely be an intelligence-gathering group.

When asked if they would be allowed to make arrests, the retired CP said, “The power they have to make arrests is the same power you have. Every citizen has the power of arrest. When you arrest, you take to the police station. That is the same power. They are not going to operate a detention facility. It is non-state actors participating in security.”