By YSO Olaniyi
In a bid to ensure the effective take-off and efficient management of Oyo State Security Network codenamed Amotekun, Governor Seyi Makinde has appointed the duo of General Ajibola Kunle Togun and retired Colonel Olayanju Bisiriyu Olayinka as chairman and commandant, respectively.
The governor, in a statement signed by his Special Assistant (Print Media) Moses Alao, indicated that the retired military officers will oversee the initiative, which was put in place to check insecurity in the state.
It will be recalled that Governor Makinde signed the Amotekun Bill into law in March, with the government having procured vehicles and other equipment for use by the security outfit which, he noted, was set up to complement the efforts of other security agencies in the state.
The new chairman of the outfit, General Togun, retired from the military having served as Director of Military Intelligence and former Deputy Director-General of the State Security Service.
Togun, who attended the Government College, Ibadan, and Mount Olivet High School, Oyo, studied Zoology at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, between 1964 and 1968, before joining the Nigerian Army in 1968, where he served in the Awka Sector during the Nigerian Civil War.
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He was the first non-American Army Officer to score 100 percent in a military subject at the aptitude level.
He served in various positions in the Army, including Presidential Guards, Dodan Barracks, Lagos; Adviser in the Nigerian Embassy, Cotonou in 1979; Battalion Commander; Brigade Commander, Director of Military Intelligence and similarly, the newly appointed commandant of the Oyo State Amotekun outfit, Col. Olayinka (rtd), has several years of experience in the military, having served as Assistant Director, British Military Advisory Training Team, Defence Headquarters, Abuja; Deputy Chief of Staff (Logistics), Headquarters 2 Div, Nigerian Army, Ibadan and Sector Commander, Operation Safe Haven, Plateau State, among others.
He began his military training at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji, Nigeria, in 1993, and holds a Higher Defence Management and National Security certification from the National Defence College, Abuja.
He also holds a Masters of Strategic Studies certificate from the University of Ibadan, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Criminology and Security Studies from the National Open University, Abuja; Professional Diploma in Safety and Security Management from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, among other educational and professional certifications.
The Amotekun was formed by the six governors of the South-west states termed Western Nigeria Security Network to combat kidnapping, killings and stop the incursion of bandits into the zone.
The governors were also disturbed by the incessant farmers-herders’ clashes in the zone, thereby conceptualized the joint outfit to ward off criminals from the region.
