Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The High Court of Ondo State sitting in Akure has ruled that the Ondo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Amotekun Corps, lacks the legal authority to independently declare any Nigerian citizen wanted, setting aside the wanted declaration issued against three suspended officers of the agency . The landmark judgment, delivered on Monday, July 27, 2026, by the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Justice A.O. Odusola, nullified the wanted notice issued against the officers, holding that the action was unlawful and not supported by any statutory provision .
The judgment was delivered in consolidated fundamental rights enforcement suits filed by the affected officers—Abu Taiwo, Pius Akinsipe Temitope Victor and Ekujimi Julius—against the Commandant of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, and the agency . The officers had challenged their suspension and the subsequent decision to declare them wanted, alleging that they were punished for advocating institutional reforms and demanding the issuance of employment letters to personnel . They told the court that they were suspended without investigation, disciplinary proceedings or being issued any formal query, and that they were publicly declared wanted during a suspect parade after surviving an alleged assassination attempt .
Before considering the substantive issues, the court dismissed a preliminary objection raised by the respondents, who argued that the suits were incompetent because the supporting affidavits were not personally sworn to by the applicants . Justice Odusola held that the affidavits were validly sworn to by a person with sufficient knowledge of the facts, observing that the deponent, who is the wife of one of the applicants, possessed adequate knowledge of the facts and was therefore competent to depose to the affidavits . The judge further held that the originating processes disclosed a justiciable complaint relating to the enforcement of the applicants' constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, thereby establishing a reasonable cause of action .
On the substantive issue, Justice Odusola held unequivocally that the Amotekun Corps has no statutory power to independently declare any Nigerian citizen wanted . According to the court, the declaration of a person as wanted is a legal process governed by established laws and procedures and cannot be exercised arbitrarily by any law enforcement agency outside the framework recognised by law . The judge stressed that such powers must be exercised strictly in accordance with due process and only by authorities legally empowered to do so . In reaching the decision, the court noted that the Senior Advocate of Nigeria representing the respondents conceded during proceedings that there is no law empowering the Amotekun Corps to independently declare a Nigerian citizen wanted outside legally prescribed procedures .
Based on that admission and the applicable legal principles, Justice Odusola declared the wanted notice issued against the three suspended officers unlawful, unconstitutional, and of no legal effect . The court consequently set aside the wanted declaration. However, while granting the reliefs sought by the applicants in relation to the unlawful wanted notice, Justice Odusola declined their claim for damages . The ruling is being regarded as a significant judicial pronouncement on the limits of the powers of state security agencies and reinforces the principle that actions affecting the liberty, dignity and reputation of citizens must be backed by law .
Amotekun was established by the six South-West states in 2020 as a regional security network to complement the efforts of conventional security agencies in combating kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry, and other violent crimes . Although the corps has recorded successes in intelligence gathering and community policing, its operations have occasionally generated legal debates over the limits of its powers, particularly where they intersect with functions constitutionally assigned to federal security agencies such as the Nigeria Police Force . The judgment reinforces the constitutional safeguards protecting citizens' rights and sends a clear message that security agencies, whether federal or state, must operate strictly within the bounds of the law .
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