Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has appealed to the Nigeria Police Force to immediately lift the ban on the operations of the Osun State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, as part of efforts to prevent the spillover of banditry and kidnapping from neighbouring Kwara State into Osun.

The appeal was made after a closed-door security meeting, according to a statement issued by the Governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed.

Responding to a recent case of kidnapping in the Ora-Igbomina area, Governor Adeleke said the state’s capacity to respond effectively to security threats had been severely constrained by the continued shutdown of Amotekun operations.

He noted that the corps has remained sealed by the police, with its top officers in detention without trial for several months.

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The Governor stressed that Amotekun had developed critical expertise in containing security threats, particularly in rural and border communities, adding that the suspension of its operations had created a security vacuum now being exploited by bandits and other criminal elements.

Governor Adeleke urged the police to promptly charge the detained officers to court and unseal the Amotekun service, warning that further delays could expose rural dwellers to greater danger and open the state to increased criminal infiltration.