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The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Commandant General, Abdullahi Gana Muhammdu has cautioned Nigerian youths on the danger of engaging in election violence. He told Daily Sun: “A violence-free election in 2019 is achievable if all stakeholders join hand to make it achievable.
“We are set for the general elections. We are training over 200 corps members to get them prepared for the elections. The training is in batches. My administration has promoted over 4,000 personnel in the senior and junior categories with arrears paid to those promoted since 2014. Loans were provided for more than 962 officers to renovate their homes, while 20 more officers benefited from the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) programme.”
He commended the efforts of the various directorates and state commands for the achievements recorded in the core mandate of the corps: “The fight against pipeline vandalism, theft and adulteration of petroleum products has been sustained through the collaborating efforts of the NSCDC and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The corps ensured maximum security to all facilities and infrastructure in the power sector, telecommunication and others through the deployment of officers of the corps.
“We have a special trained anti-vandal troops deployed in major pipelines and oil installations across the nation. This is especially in the Niger Delta where the corps arrested over 250 suspects and recovered 25 vehicles, 40 trucks, 25 boats, six vessels, 250 drums laden with stolen adulterated petroleum products.
“The corps succeeded in intercepting books donated by UNICEF as well as food and drugs by international and local donors to the IDPS and ensured that the items got to the beneficiaries. Efforts of the corps in Borno State Command endeared it to the US Government who donated operational and administrative equipment to the command.
“We deployed 5,000 personnel in the North East to protect the IDP camps, and to occupy the re-claimed towns and villages by the military. It has also maintained tremendous working relationship with the military in the fight against insurgency.”
He charged members of the public, corporate organizations among others, to always remember the gallant soldiers who put their lives on the line to defend the territorial integrity of the nation: “Every citizen of this country both old and youth, owes it as obligation to cater for the families of these fallen heroes and no amount be too much for their welfare.”
Muhammadu received students of Basic Intelligence course 11/2018 of the Defence Intelligence College on study tour to the corps headquarters. The visit was necessitated by the role and contribution of the corps as principal stakeholder to national security, especially with regards to proffering solutions to the various challenges such as kidnapping, illegal bunkering, vandalism and insurgency.
“The core mandate of the corps included protection of critical infrastructure and national assets, disaster management and the reposition of the private guard industry in assisting to monitor porous border the high level of fake drugs by women and youth especially in the North. The students should be more proactive in tackling these issues as intelligence officers.
“The NSCDC as a grassroots organisation has put in place a lot of mechanisms to checkmate insecurity in the country. The corps has set up command and control centres to monitor the activities of vandals and oil thieves in the South-South and will replicate same for other zones especially the North-East to fight insurgency.
“The NSCDC generated N800million as revenue from approval of licenses for private guard companies in 2018. It registered and licensed 1, 212 private guards companies in the year under review. Over 80 of the companies were sealed off for non-renewal of their licences after they were warned.
“One hundred and two other licences were also revoked due to non-compliance. The corps assisted the private guard companies in the training of over 4,000 personnel for effective performance. Owners of private guard companies are to ensure internal security standard as there are high expectations from them. Do not allow foreigners head your companies because it is against the law guiding the operations of private guard security companies in the country.”
