The Emergence of Amotekun: Analyzing Underlying Factors and Motivations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33445/psssj.2025.6.3.5Keywords:
Amotekun, Nigeria, Security, Community Policing, Regional AutonomyAbstract
The study aims to examine the underlying factors and motivations that led to the establishment of Amotekun, a community-based security network in southwestern Nigeria. It seeks to determine whether its creation was primarily a response to escalating insecurity or a manifestation of Yoruba socio-political aspirations for regional autonomy.
The research adopts a qualitative and exploratory design anchored in Situational Crime Prevention Theory. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 31 Amotekun members in Ondo State, selected using convenience and venue-based sampling. Thematic analysis was employed to interpret the transcribed data and identify recurrent themes.
Results indicate that Amotekun emerged as a reaction to the inefficacy of Nigeria’s centralized security system, addressing crimes such as kidnapping, robbery, and farmer–herder conflicts. However, evidence also suggests ethnic exclusivity and potential alignment with the Yoruba socio-political movement (Afenifere), implying dual objectives—security provision and regional identity promotion.
The study validates the applicability of Situational Crime Prevention Theory in explaining informal security initiatives, showing how localized interventions can alter crime opportunities within community contexts.
The findings underscore the need for clearer legal frameworks defining Amotekun’s jurisdiction and coordination with federal agencies to prevent jurisdictional conflicts.
This research provides rare empirical insights into Amotekun’s formation, linking security governance with regional political dynamics and contributing to the broader discourse on community policing in emerging democracies.
Downloads
References
Abrahamsen, R., & Williams, M. C. (2009). Security beyond the state: Private security in international politics. Cambridge University Press.
Aborisade, R. (2021). The politics of security: Analyzing the Amotekun initiative in southwestern Nigeria. Security Journal, 34(1), 22–40.
Abioye, T. (2021). Legislative frameworks for regional security forces in Nigeria: A case study of Amotekun and South-South security initiatives. African Security Review, 30(1), 78–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/10246029.2021.1899382
Adebolu, A., et al. (2021). An examination of Amotekun as panacea to the problem of insecurity in Yorubaland. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Reviews, 11(1), 20.
Adepoju, A. (2020). The herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria: Causes, characteristics, and consequences. International Journal of Conflict and Violence, 1(3), 23–34.
Adeyemi, F. (2020). Challenges of community policing: The case of Amotekun in Ogun State. Journal of Peace, Conflict and Development, 25(1), 89–104.
Adebanjo, A., & Fagbadebo, O. (2020). Community-based security initiatives and public safety in Nigeria. African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies, 13(1), 85–102. https://www.ajcjs.org/2020-vol13-issue1/adebanjo_fagbadebo.pdf
Akinterinwa, B. A. (2021). Nigeria’s security challenges: A study of the geopolitical dimensions and policy responses. African Security Review, 30(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10246029.2021.1876548
Akinwale, A. A. (2019). Community policing in Nigeria: Challenges and prospects. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 21(2), 136–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355719831658
Akinyemi, O. (2020). Amotekun: Security, rights, and federalism in Nigeria. Foreign Policy Research Institute. https://www.fpri.org/article/2020/05/amotekun-security-rights-and-federalism-in-nigeria/
Akinyele, R. T. (2020). Security and governance: The emergence of Amotekun in southwestern Nigeria. Journal of African Security Studies, 12(3), 201–215.
Akinola, O. (2020). Amotekun: A new wave of regionalism in Nigeria. African Security Review, 29(3), 200–213.
Alemika, E. (2018). The Nigeria Police Force and the challenge of security in Nigeria. Security Review Journal, 22(4), 78–95.
Alliyu, N., Obioha, E. E., & Lawal, A. M. (2016). Fractured structure, credible elections and the future of Nigeria. International Journal of Business and Management Studies, 8(1), 133–150.
Amotekun. (2020, January). South West governors launch regional security outfit. Premium Times. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/south-west/393579
Baker, B. (2004). Multi-choice policing in Africa: Is the continent following the South African pattern? International Affairs, 80(1), 117–135.
Basiru, A. S., & Osunkoya, O. A. (2019). Vigilante groups and policing in a democratizing Nigeria: Navigating the context and issues. Revista Brasileira de Estudos Africanos, 4(8).
Bello, M. S. (2020). State government support for informal security groups in northwestern Nigeria. Journal of African Security Studies, 12(3), 210–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/20477599.2020.1782756
Campbell, J. (2021). The Eastern Security Network: A response to insecurity in southeastern Nigeria. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org
Clarke, R. V. (1980). Situational crime prevention: Theory and practice. British Journal of Criminology, 20(2), 136–147.
Ekeh, P. P. (2000). Nigerian political history and the foundations of Nigerian federalism. Annals of the Social Science Academy of Nigeria, 12(10).
Harnischfeger, J. (2008). Democratization and Islamic law: The Sharia conflict in Nigeria. Campus Verlag.
Hills, A. (2000). Policing Africa: Internal security and the limits of liberalization. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Ikechukwu, U. G. (2015). Political nomadism and its implications on political development in Nigeria: A critical analysis. International Journal of African and Asian Studies, 9, 75–86.
International Crisis Group. (2020, May 14). Nigeria’s security challenges: Rebuilding a shattered state. https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/nigerias-security-challenges-rebuilding-shattered-state
Iyanda, A. (2021). Community policing and Amotekun: A case study of security network in southwest Nigeria. African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies, 4(1), 112–126.
National Bureau of Statistics, Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, & Federal Ministry of Trade & Investment. (2013). National survey on agricultural exportable commodities.
Nwankpa, M. (2021). The Eastern Security Network and the quest for Biafra: Separatism, security, and self-determination. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 39(4), 487–502.
Odeyemi, J. O. (2014). A political history of Nigeria and the crisis of ethnicity in nation-building. International Journal of Developing Societies, 3(1), 1–12.
Ojiezele, M. O. (2023). The Nigeria Police and law enforcement: The challenges of dual loyalty. International Journal of Criminology and Security Studies, 1(1), 172–178.
Ojiezele, M. O. (2022). Insecurity and the state: The consequential surge of informal security apparatus in Nigeria. FUOYE Journal of Criminology and Security Studies, 1(2), 150–153.
Ojo, A. (2021). Decentralized security frameworks and crime prevention in Nigeria. International Journal of Security Studies, 37(1), 23–39.
Ojo, J. (2021). The rise of vigilante groups and the quest for security in Nigeria. African Security Review, 30(2), 129–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/10246029.2021.1920956
Olajide, B., & Adebanji, T. (2022). Impact evaluation of Amotekun on crime reduction in southwest Nigeria. Security Journal, 15(4), 421–438.
Olayinka, T. (2021). Economic consequences of insecurity in Nigeria: A focus on the southwestern states. Economic Review of West Africa, 46(1), 45–63.
Olaniyi, J. (2020). Economic implications of insecurity in southwestern Nigeria. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28(3), 89–104.
Olaniyan, A., & Yahaya, A. (2021). Security challenges and state response in Nigeria: Understanding the disconnect. Journal of African Security, 14(3), 229–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392206.2021.1875621
Olaiya, T. A. (2020). The establishment of Amotekun and its role in enhancing security in South-West Nigeria. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 38(4), 562–580. https://doi.org/10.1080/02589001.2020.1820201
Olayode, K. (2011). Ethno-nationalist movements and political mobilization in Africa: The Nigerian experience (1990–2003). Stichproben: Vienna Journal of African Studies, 20, 69–93.
Onapajo, H. (2017). Sharia implementation and the Nigerian state: The Hisbah and the crisis of religious pluralism in Northern Nigeria. African Studies Quarterly, 17(3), 45–67.
Ondo State Bureau of Statistics. (2020). Ondo State statistical year book. Ondo State Bureau of Statistics.
Onuoha, F. C. (2010). The Islamist challenge: Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis explained. African Security Review, 19(2), 54–67.
Rasmussen, S. E. (2013). Re-enacting the state: NGOs, governmentality, and the pursuit of state legitimacy in Northern Nigeria. Africa Spectrum, 48(2), 29–53.
Yagboyaju, D. A. (2017). Religion, culture and political corruption in Nigeria. Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review, 5(1), 1–10.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Monday Ojiezele
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The authors agree with the following conditions:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication (Download agreement) with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors have the right to complete individual additional agreements for the non-exclusive spreading of the journal’s published version of the work (for example, to post work in the electronic repository of the institution or to publish it as part of a monograph), with the reference to the first publication of the work in this journal.
3. Journal’s politics allows and encourages the placement on the Internet (for example, in the repositories of institutions, personal websites, SSRN, ResearchGate, MPRA, SSOAR, etc.) manuscript of the work by the authors, before and during the process of viewing it by this journal, because it can lead to a productive research discussion and positively affect the efficiency and dynamics of citing the published work (see The Effect of Open Access).
