‘Invasion Intends to Drive Us Out of Our Ancestral Lands’ – Amotekun Commander
By Segun Onibiyo
(Ekiti State), Nigeria – In an exclusive interview with TruthNigeria, Commander Adetunji Adeleye of the Ondo State Amotekun Corps revealed how the state-backed security force is mounting an aggressive and culturally informed defense against Fulani ethnic militia terrorists, particularly the Lakurawa faction across Nigeria’s Southwest.
“We got organized as mandated by the governors of the Southwestern states directed to hunt the Fulani Ethnic Militia terrorists, Boko Haram terrorists and Lakurawa terrorists lurking in the forests, mountains, and cut off their supply lines. Amotekun is not just a deterrent, it’s a decisive force,” Adeleye said in an exclusive telephone interview with TruthNigeria.
A Local Force with a National Impact
Amid mounting frustration over federal inaction, the Southwest’s Amotekun Corps has emerged as a vital counterinsurgency tool against terrorist incursions into Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti, and Oyo States.
“Our intelligence confirms they’re planting camps, recruiting scouts from the Northeast and Sahel states and stockpiling arms,” Adeleye continued. “This is not mere banditry. It is a terrorist invasion. With intent to forcefully drive us out of our ancestral lands”
Commander Adeleye added, “remember that the Southwest governors bolstered the Amotekun group by strengthening through the recruitment of new members, about 2,000 men strong to comb the Southwest, we have been gathering intelligence on their movements, tracking them and watching their activities over time. And with the help of community guards, an incorporation of local farmers and with the backing of the Southwest governors, we have been successful in making arrests, profiling those arrested and clearing out forests, mountains in and around the region. The activities have been relatively successful.”
Culturally Grounded, Tactically Effective
A security expert and senior retired security officer based in Akure, Ondo state, Banure Akungba, told TruthNigeria reporter in a WhatsApp chat, “at the heart of Amotekun’s growing success is a strategy rooted not only in firepower but in cultural fluency, a stark contrast to the often-detached approach of federal security forces. Unlike soldiers flown in from other regions, Amotekun operatives are locals, farmers, hunters, traders, and traditional guards drawn from the very communities they are protecting.
“This cultural grounding is what sets the Amotekun Corps apart in the volatile security landscape,” Akungba went on to say.
Knowing the Neighborhood Builds Trust
“Amotekun’s strength lies in cultural alignment,” said a respected traditional priestess, Oloogun Fagbeminja, to TruthNigeria.
“They know the land, the language, the customs, the traditional ways of handling cases of terrorism and the likes. They eat the food, pray in the same mosques and churches, and understand local power dynamics. That breeds trust. And in counterinsurgency, trust is as valuable as intelligence or weaponry.”
“This trust, allows Amotekun to gather real-time intelligence more effectively, respond faster to distress calls, and operate in hostile terrain without losing public support,” the priestess went on to say in Yoruba.
“In addition, the Corps leverages indigenous knowledge systems, including local hunters and traditional security networks, to navigate the complex web of forest trails and mountain enclaves where terrorist groups like the Lakurawa hide,” Fagbeminja said.
“They’re not just using GPS. They’re using generational knowledge of the terrain: rivers that flood in the wet season, caves used during tribal wars, animal paths that lead to old camps,” she concluded.
“This cultural embeddedness,” as Erinfolaju Aare, the head of hunters in Ogun state, says, “enables Amotekun to wage an asymmetric war with greater agility than the heavily centralized Nigerian Army. Their success isn’t built on imported strategy but on homegrown, community-driven defense that resonates with the people they protect.”
Unit commanders are also adapting their tactics to local terrain. Baooku Otolorin, a unit leader in Ondo State, recounted a recent raid.
“When intelligence pointed to a terrorist enclave near Akoko, in Ondo state, we blocked escape routes using motorcycles and boats,” Otolorin said.
“We moved in with police support, dismantled the camp, killed 7 insurgents, and uncovered a cache of weapons and charms,” Otolorin said.
“We’re Taking Back Our Homeland”
In separate interviews conducted by TruthNigeria via telephone, Amotekun leaders provided field updates on recent victories.
“We’ve reclaimed farms, reopened schools,” according to Adeleye. “Kidnappings in Oke-Ogun are down by an estimated 60 percent compared to this time last year,” Commander Adeleye said.
“In Ikole, we used local hunters who know every trail, every mountain. We dismantled three strongholds last quarter,” added Commander Folashade Adegoke of Ekiti State.
“In a joint raid near Oyo Town, Amotekun located escape tunnels that the police had missed,” said Olumide Balogun, Security Adviser to the Oyo State Government. “That’s how tactical synergy works here.”
Security experts have warned that unvetted local armed gangs can transition into armed insurgents themselves. There is uncertainty whether the terrorist insurgency call Lakurawa began as a Muslim community defense group in Northwest Nigeria and evolved into a regional terrorist faction, or whether it was an insurgency from the outset.
Friction with Federal Forces
Despite widespread support, Amotekun continues to operate without federal integration.
“Amotekun is a community policing response tailored for our people,” Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State has said in media reports. “We’re building confidence in rural communities by blending cultural familiarity with tactical response.”
Commander Adegoke provided operational data:
· Kidnappings in Oke-Ogun (2023): 150
· Recorded farm/village attacks (2023): Over 80
· Armed cells destroyed (2025): 50+ across Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, and Ogun
· Terrorists neutralized: Over 50
A New Model for Local Security
The Balogun (war general) of Ikare, Ondo State, chief Ewetokon told TruthNigeria the Corps represents a return to traditional defensive wisdom in the face of modern terror.
“In a nation battered by insurgencies and federal inaction, the Amotekun Corps is rewriting Nigeria’s security narrative not by decree from Abuja, but by grassroots resolve and cultural intelligence,” he said. “This was our way of fighting long before democracy. Protecting the homeland starts from home. We are winning, and we’re seeing the gains.”
Segun Onibiyo reports on terrorism and conflicts for TruthNigeria.
