The council of Amotekun Commander in the South West has reached a consensus to engage in inter-state border patrol of all southwest states with a view to achieving synergy in crime-fighting.
The chairman of the council who also doubles as the corps commander of Ondo Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeyeye, said this in Akure on Monday.
He explained that the objective of inter-state cooperation is to ensure that criminals that escaped from one state are apprehended in another state within the southwest.
Adeyeye said the destruction of farmlands by herders in Ondo State has greatly reduced owing to enforcement of the ban on open grazing.
He said herders now offer money to farmers whose crops were destroyed unlike previously when they would walk away.
His words: “Being Chairman of the Council of Amotekun Commanders is a greater call to service. The Commanders of the various states in the Southwest region met to deliberate on the way forward and they picked me as the Chairman.
“A fallout of the meeting is that we agreed on inter border patrol of major highway and all the routes in our various states. We intend to reduce armed robbery and kidnappings on the highway.
“We noticed kidnappings take place on bad spots on the road where motorists are expected to slow down.
“We are to enforce the ban on open grazing. We apprehend herders on a daily basis. There is a reduction in the destruction of farmlands by herders in Ondo State.
“The awareness is open now that no herder can destroy people’s farm and go scot free. As a Nigeria you can do your business but do not destroy the other person’s business. Once an herder destroys a farmland he is treated as a criminal.
“There has been no glaring case of herders destroying farmlands in Ondo. The last one we heard before we got there the herder had pleaded and paid the farmer. It was the farmer that told us he has already be paid.”
Adeyeye further called for capital punishment without option of fine to be meted out to kidnappers.
