Amotekun Should Be Integrated into National Defence Training — Oyo Govt
The Oyo State Government has advocated a deliberate blend of formal intelligence training and spiritual intelligence to address Nigeria’s evolving security challenges.
The Acting Governor of the state, Barrister Bayo Lawal, made the call at the Oyo State Secretariat, Ibadan, while receiving participants of the Advanced Defence Intelligence Officers’ Course 16/2026, who were on a study tour of the state.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Musibau Babatunde, Lawal urged relevant authorities to integrate the Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun Corps, into national defence training programmes to enable the sharing of local security expertise.
He noted that Nigeria’s security challenges had gone beyond conventional threats, now encompassing kidnapping, banditry, organised crime, cyber threats, trafficking and communal conflicts.
The Acting Governor highlighted the role of intelligence gathering and community-based security approaches, adding that Amotekun operatives had, on some occasions, complemented conventional policing methods with spiritual intelligence in tackling security issues.
He disclosed that the state government would formally write to relevant agencies to request the inclusion of Amotekun Corps in future national security courses.
Lawal urged the participants to maximise the opportunity of the study tour by engaging with stakeholders, asking relevant questions and exploring ways to translate their observations into practical strategies for improving national security.
Earlier, the Defence Intelligence College delegation, led by Commodore Usman Bugaje, said the visit was designed to enable participants to learn from sub-national security structures, community engagement initiatives and intelligence coordination models across the country.
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