Attorneys General (AG) in the six Southwest states will meet in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Thursday to receive the report of the three-man committee on drafting of the legal framework for the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Operation Amotekun.
The states are Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Lagos, Ekiti and Osun.
The AGs had set up a three-member committee when they met in Ibadan a fortnight ago.
The committee was saddled with the responsibility of looking at existing laws in Lagos, Ogun and Ekiti and come up with what can work as a strong legal backing for the operation in each of the six states without running contrary to the Nigerian constitution.
The AGs are working together to ensure that Amotekun exists and operates on a state-by-state basis but with regional cooperation. The outfit will operate with the same operational guidelines developed by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission christened Standard Operational Procedure (SOP).
They are to operate with common insignia such as uniform, patrol vans, recruitment procedure and administrative organogram. They will interact at regional level through sharing of intelligence, joint cooperation in tracking down criminals and training of personnel.
The AGs were brought into Amotekun’s establishment when the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN) declared the outfit illegal in a January 14 statement. He said the constitution does not provide for a regional security outfit.
Amotekun was launched by the six states in Ibadan on January 9.
State houses of assembly in the six states have already indicated readiness to give the bill accelerated passage once received.
At Thursday’s meeting, the AGs will review the framework developed by the committee and the bills prepared by each state. They will study the two drafts and agree on a general guideline. Each state will then draft its final bill, present to the governor and send to the House of Assembly for passage into law.
A source disclosed to The Nation Tuesday that the AGs were putting finishing touches to their draft bills in preparation for Thursday meeting, realizing that all eyes are on them over Amotekun.
Speakers of the houses of assembly have pledged to give the bill accelerated passage once submitted.
Each state is expected to submit its own bill as from next week which would have accommodated peculiarities of the state in addition to the general content that are common to all of them.
By Bisi Oladele
