Community policing recognizes that effective policing relies on both the police and residents of the community, thus the community and law enforcement agencies work hand in hand to reduce local crimes thereby fostering an interactive partnership between both the law enforcement agencies and the residents of the community. It attempts to prevent situations that lead to crime rather than responding to crime after its occurrence.

Nigeria has about 300,000 police officers to cater for the population of about 200 million citizens which translates to 1 police officer for every 667 citizens which obviously falls  below the internationally recommended standard that suggests at least one police officer for 450 citizens. (Check the source here).

This recommended structure of responsibility is not  logically suitable  because one police officer cannot cater for 450 citizens and this is where community policing comes in to help. However, a quote by Seyi Makinde, the governor of Oyo State stated; “The fight against criminality is not a one-man show. It is not only about the military or the police or other security agencies. It is about all of us coming together as a nation, as one team to fight insecurity.” The need for every interested individual wanting to safeguard their community and their environment is what has led to the rise of community policing.

It is the responsibility of every citizen to report any strange and suspicious activity perceived in the community to the law enforcement agencies “if you see something, say something” and avoid taking laws into their hands.

Community policing makes efforts to prevent crimes before their occurrence by; engaging residents to determine criminal activities peculiar to that community, gathering relevant and accurate information from residents regarding criminal activities in their community, and also encouraging residents to work with law enforcement agencies to create a safe and secure environment for all.

Over the years, developing countries have tried to switch to community policing as a way of making the police accountable to their citizens.

Despite the tremendous efforts of the police force to ensure a safe environment for all, the police officers are not omnipresent. It is almost impossible for them to keep an eye on the nooks and cronies of every community to fish out local criminals or prevent local crimes. Even though members of the community are told to work with the police officers to reduce local crimes, they do not trust the police officers enough to collaborate with them and this is because the corrupt officers have tarnished the image of the Nigerian police force. Community policing therefore, comes in to bridge the gap between the community and the police force, and this is very much supported by the federal government  in a statement made by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo while speaking on community policing ” Our effort in embracing community policing as a national security strategy is also informed by the need to close the trust gap between the police and the citizens and to build partnerships and strengthen the collaboration with communities towards addressing prevalent security issues.”

The need to combat the rising insecurity issues (terrorism, banditry, armed robbery and kidnapping) in Nigeria from the grassroots birthed the OPERATION AMOTEKUN.

The six states of the southwestern region aligned to form a security outfit named AMOTEKUN and this is to curb the insecurity lingering in the southwest region of the country.

AMOTEKUN was not created to assume responsibility for the Nigerian police force but rather to assist the police and other security agencies and traditional rulers to combat local crime by providing surveillance and intelligence, monitoring, detecting, reporting criminal activities, and even arresting criminals in the southwestern region.

OPERATION AMOTEKUN was established on 9th January 2020 by all the six governors of the southwestern States (Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Lagos, Osun) with the headquarters situated in Oyo State.

In November 2020, the governor of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde declared AMOTEKUN operational in Oyo State with 1500 officers. He reinforced the security outfit with 33 vehicles and 396 motorcycles. This shows the government’s efforts and commitment to support AMOTEKUN in their quest to combat terrorism, banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping, to secure the lives and properties in the state and create a safe environment for Oyo State residents.

In 2022, governor Seyi Makinde recruited 500 officers and donated 100 patrol vehicles fully equipped with communication gadgets to operation AMOTEKUN to enable them to respond adequately and swiftly to criminal activities within the state. Also the implementation of light up Oyo project (Installation of street lights all round Oyo State) has been helpful to AMOTEKUN operatives in carrying out their night duties and patrols on the ground so that they can move freely at night, see far ahead of them and plan accordingly.

The Amotekun security is significant within Oyo State and other southwestern States for its security outfit. The appellation “Amotekun” is a Yoruba name meaning Leopard, this animal is not an ordinary animal, it is an animal that exudes confidence, jumps and runs with extraordinary speed to get at its target. This attribute of a leopard is the working strategy of the Amotekun community operatives.

It is an undeniable fact that since the establishment of the AMOTEKUN operation, the crime rate and other insecurity issues observed within the state have reduced to a safer extent and this development has positively influenced the peace and security experienced within the state, gradually making it one of the most peaceful places to live within the southwest and Nigeria.