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Amotekun

The Southwest region’s response to the failures of the Nigerian police and worsening insecurity in Nigeria

Bibliographic Data

ID7559535
AuthorsKenneth Chukwuemeka Nwoko (0000-0003-4697-7813, McPherson University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume22
Issue1
Pages1-17
Publication date2024-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAfrican Identities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1472-5843 • E-ISSN: 1472-5851
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14725843.2021.1994368
OpenAlexW3212595246
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited8

This article explores the concept of ‘Amotekun,’ the newly inaugurated security outfit of the southwest region of Nigeria. It investigates the various constructions of this initiative which have raised debates on the security potentials of the initiative. It examines the constitutional implications of this development and how it resonates with the clamour for regional police and community policing and the overall restructuring of the country. It assesses the security architecture of Nigeria in the light of pervading insecurity across the country and the inability of the federal government to provide security for its citizens. Using the Social Contract theory, the article argues that the failure of government to secure lives and properties which is a breach of its social contract with Nigerians gave rise to the ‘self help’ initiatives such as Amotekun. It contends that correcting this breach of the contract by government through a constitutional amendment or a new constitution which removes police issues from the exclusive list to the concurrent lists in the federal constitution as well as give more powers to the federating units is fundamental not only in solving the security issues in the country but also in tackling other issues confronting the country

Criminology · Development economics · Economics · Political science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Southeastern Nigeria · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Gender Studies · Local Government Finance and Decentralization

  • Economic restructuring as a human resource panacea for Nigeria's poverty

    Open Access•Aloysius Aduma, Celestine Chijioke Onah et al.•Poverty & Public Policy•2023

  • Local government peacebuilding committees and the management of farmers-pastoralists conflicts in South–West Nigeria

    Gbeke Adebowale Adenuga•African Security Review•2025

  • The Amotekun security outfit in southwest Nigeria

    Ayodeji Gideon Olupeka, Uche Charlie Isiugo-Abanihe•African Security Review•2026

  • Organised crime, violent conflicts and the movement towards a dual policing system in Nigeria

    Open Access•Dele Babalola, Ebimboere Seiyefa•The Round Table•2025

  • Democratic Civilian Control in Limited-Access Orders

    Open Access•Fatai Alli•Armed Forces & Society•2026

  • Kidnapping in Nigeria

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  • Political economy of sub-national fragility and armed conflict in Northwest Nigeria

    Open Access•Folahanmi Aina•African Identities•2025

  • Fulani herder-farmer identity conflict in West Africa with a particular focus on security implications for Nigeria

    Adetayo Olamide Sowale, Adetayo Sowale•African Identities•2024

  • Negotiating Nigerian national cohesion and the rhetoric of herdsmen attack in Ahmed Yerima’s Hendu

    Bartholomew Chizoba Akpah•African Identities•2025

  • Self-surveillance as securitisation

    Open Access•Ifeanyichukwu Charles Nweke•Critical Studies on Security•2025

  • From the Hub of Lagos

    Kenneth Chukwuemeka Nwoko, Kenneth Chukwuemeka Nwoko Kenneth Chukwuemeka Nwoko…•Afrika Zamani•2022

  • Re-inventing Federalism in Post-Transition Nigeria

    Open Access•Osita Agbu•Africa Development•2004

  • The Nigerian Federation at the Crossroads

    Ladipo Adamolekun•Publius The Journal of Federalism•2005

  • Ethnic Minorities and Federalism in Nigeria

    Eghosa E Osaghae•African Affairs•1991

Unique citing works10
Citations per year3,33
Citation span2023 - 2026 (4)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 10

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