AMOTEKUN: Makinde Appoints General Togun, Col. Olayinka As Chairman, Commandant
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO, ABUJA – Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has appointed General Ajibola Kunle Togun and retired Colonel Olayanju Bisiriyu Olayinka as chairman and commandant respectively, of the State Security Network, codenamed Amotekun.
Makinde, in a statement by his Special Assistant (Print Media) Moses Alao, said that the retired military officers will oversee the initiative, which was put in place to check insecurity in the state.
Governor Makinde, who signed the Amotekun Bill into law in March this year with the government having procured vehicles and other equipment for use by the security outfit which, noted that the security outfit was set up to complement the efforts of other security agencies in the state.
The new chairman of the outfit, General Togun, retired from the military having served as Director of Military Intelligence and former Deputy Director-General of the State Security Service.
Togun, who attended Government College, Ibadan, and Mount Olivet High School, Oyo, studied Zoology at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, between 1964 and 1968, before joining the Nigerian Army in 1968, where he served in the Awka Sector during the Nigerian Civil War.
General Togun,who was the first non-American Army Officer to score 100 percent in a military subject at the aptitude level, served in various positions in the Army, including Presidential Guards, Dodan Barracks, Lagos; Adviser in the Nigerian Embassy, Cotonou in 1979; Battalion Commander; Brigade Commander and Director of Military Intelligence among other commanding positions.
Similarly, the newly appointed commandant of the Oyo State Amotekun outfit, Col. Olayinka (rtd), has several years of experience in the military, having served as Assistant Director, British Military Advisory Training Team, Defence Headquarters, Abuja; Deputy Chief of Staff (Logistics), Headquarters 2 Div, Nigerian Army, Ibadan and Sector Commander, Operation Safe Haven, Plateau State, among others.
He began his military training at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji, Nigeria, in 1993, and holds a Higher Defence Management and National Security certification from the National Defence College, Abuja.
He also holds a Masters of Strategic Studies certificate from the University of Ibadan, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Criminology and Security Studies from the National Open University, Abuja; Professional Diploma in Safety and Security Management from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, among other educational and professional certifications.