Ex-Osun Amotekun DG accuses agency of criminal recruitment scheme

The Pioneer Director-General of the Osun Amotekun Corps, Amitolu Shittu, has raised alarm over what he described as the infiltration of criminal elements into the security outfit through improper recruitment.

Shittu, who was appointed in April 2020 by the administration of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, made the allegations while speaking with journalists in Osogbo on Saturday.

He alleged that the current State Commander, Isaac Adekunle Omoyele, had recruited cultists, ex-convicts, and drug users into the organisation, thereby eroding public confidence in its operations.

“The current State Commander of the Amotekun Corps, Isaac Omoyele, recruited all manner of criminals into the corps. Cultists, ritualists, ex-convicts, hard drug users and dealers were taken into the group and handed arms. They must be subjected to fresh profiling by the security agencies,” he claimed.

According to him, those allegedly recruited under the present leadership were now posing threats to residents across Osun State.

Shittu accused Omoyele of personalising the agency and diverting its operatives to duties not recognised under the law establishing the corps.

“Those recruits are now terrorising the state. Were they screened by the police and DSS? Do we have their records? The killings in Akinlalu are just one of the several crimes those in Amotekun are now committing.

“Amotekun Corps are not engaged as guards. Very terrible,” he added.

He called for the immediate removal and prosecution of Omoyele, while urging Governor Ademola Adeleke to order a thorough profiling of all personnel recruited under the current administration.

“He should be made to face the law, while all the criminal elements within the agency, especially those involved in the Akinlalu incident, should be arrested and prosecuted,” Shittu demanded.

In response, the Osun Amotekun Corps Commander, Omoyele, through the Corps’ spokesperson, Idowu Yusuf, denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated and unfounded.

“Calls for my sack appear to be driven by political sentiment, personal grievances, or attempts to destabilise the reputation and ongoing operations of the Corps,” Omoyele stated.

He emphasised that his appointment followed due process and that the recruitment process remained transparent and rigorous.

“Our recruitment process is transparent and thorough. Applicants undergo physical screening, credential verification, and medical evaluation. They also present credible guarantors such as Royal Fathers, Pastors, Imams, or Level 12 civil servants,” he said.

Omoyele insisted that the Corps operates in accordance with the rule of law and under the mandate of Governor Adeleke’s administration, pledging continued professionalism in all engagements.

The allegations come in the wake of the recent killings in Akinlalu, a community in Ife North local government area, where three residents were reportedly shot dead by Amotekun operatives.