Security expert faults Igboho’s plan for 50,000-man ‘Iru Ekun’ Force

A security expert, Dr. Jackson Lekan-Ojo, has rejected plans by Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, to float a 50,000-man regional security outfit, saying the activist lacks the professional capacity to manage it.

Igboho, also known as “Iru Ekun”, “Ija Ekun” or “Tiger Force”, is seeking presidential approval for the security network aimed at flushing out criminal elements terrorising Yoruba land.

Reacting in Abuja, Lekan-Ojo said Igboho does not have the security training, maturity or coordination ability required for such an outfit.

“It is not going to work because of the way Igboho has come about it. Igboho is an agitator for the Republic of Oduduwa, and he is too loquacious, so people are not going to take him seriously,” he said.

The expert argued that seeking only the president’s approval is inadequate.

“Seeking the president’s approval is not enough without presenting it before the National Assembly or without the input of the Ministry of Defence,” he stated.

Lekan-Ojo also questioned the operational viability of the proposed force. 

He said: “Igboho is talking about 500,000 soldiers. What type of arms are they going to bear? 500,000 soldiers with dane guns cannot confront 200 bandits that bear AK-47s and other sophisticated weapons. Who is going to train them? Are people not going to sabotage the effort? Will they not see it or use it as a regional arrangement for the re-election of Mr. President?”

The expert said regional security outfits require expertise from professionals knowledgeable in security matters, not ex-agitators.

“An ex-agitator is not the ideal person to moot the idea of a regional security network because he is more likely to be concerned about the region whose independence he once championed.

“Igboho lacks the security training and maturity to coordinate a security network of the magnitude he is advocating,” Lekan-Ojo stressed.

He advised President Tinubu to instead “rejig the nation’s security architecture so that the arrangement can spread around the country.