Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde, on Wednesday said the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), lacked powers to declare as illegal, the South-West Security outfit codenamed “Operation Amotekun.”
According to Daily Trust, Makinde submitted that Malami as the Chief Law Officer could only interpret the law and advise President Muhammadu Buhari accordingly.
He spoke on Wednesday in Abeokuta, Ogun state shortly after he held a closed-door meeting with a former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Makinde arrived at Obasanjo’s pent house in the premises of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta at exactly 2:15pm and went straight into the meeting with the former President.
The governor, in company of his Special Adviser on Security Matter, Fatai Owoseni and Senator Hosea Agboola, emerged from the meeting at 4:24pm.
Addressing journalists, Makinde said the AGF does not have powers to declare “Operation Amotekun” as illegal.
The governor explained that although he read the AGF’s position in the media, “I don’t think for a country like Nigeria, the AGF will just wake up and make his own laws.”
“My personal position is that you actually don’t run a government on the social media. If I see a letter or if I get a call from the AGF telling me what you just said, then it will be a different type of reaction.
“I have been reading just like you read on the social media. I haven’t seen anything official letter to that effect.
“Besides, I don’t think for a country like Nigeria, the AGF will just wake up and make his own laws. He may interpret and advise the president if there are legal issues but I haven’t seen anything that gives that power to the AGF to make such declaration,” Makinde said.
