Amotekun is a Christian name, Muslim rights activist protests

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is insisting the Western Nigeria Security Network is a Christian security outfit, and as such it should not be allowed to stand except it becomes neural.

According to a statement by the director of the human rights organization, Prof. Ishaq Akintola,  “No homo sapien compos mentis living in Yorubaland will oppose the setting up of a security outfit to complement the existing security agencies on ground (the army, police, NNDC, DSS, etc)’.

“It is therefore mischievous to give the impression that Muslims are against the South West security initiative,’ he said.

He noted what the Muslims oppose is the religious and ethnic tinge which the handlers gave Amotekun.

“You cannot blame Muslims for crying out when you ask them to bring birth certificates from churches before joining Amotekun. Neither can you expect them to stand akimbo when you tell them to bring letters of recommendation from churches,’ he said.

In his earlier press statement after the Operation Amotekun was launched, the professor said it was wrong for the managers of thr outfit to demand birth certificates from churches and letters of reference from pastors.

Now he went a step further to state that  the choice of nomenclature is another controversial issue because it has a strong Christian identity.

He noted research has revealed the biblical origin of this name and it makes Muslims suspicious.

“Jeremiah 5:6 says, ‘A leopard shall guard over their city’. Amotekun is mentioned in this verse with particular reference to guarding a city,” he said.

“Now, we have a sub-region where Muslims have been under persecution for ages coming up with a security outfit under the name of the same leopard mentioned in the bible as a guard over the city.

“This is not a coincidence. The handlers of Amotekun picked the name deliberately from the bible in order to score a spiritual point.”

He urged the planners of the new security outfit to give it another name in the interest of peace and harmony in the sub-region.

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“We do not need a Christian security unit. Neither do we need a Muslim security outfit. The security agency in the southwest must not only be neutral, it must also be seen to be neutral.”