From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command has warned officers against accidental discharge, saying that bearing arms does not give any personnel the right to humiliate or harass any member of the public.
Speaking while flagging off a three- day capacity building workshop for 280 personnel on arms-bearing to foster service delivery, the FCT Commandant, Mr Olusola Odumosu said that he would not condone any form of accidental discharge from anyone.
“So, anyone who is trigger-happy should have a rethink because this is not the place to be.
“You must observe the rules of engagement anytime you are on duty and obey the words of command. The use of discretion when necessary is allowed but not at the detriment of the people you are meant to protect.
He said that officers and men of the command are ready to take the fight against criminals to their doorstep as he charged personnel to be firm when dealing with vandals and miscreants.
“While being civil in your approach, duty and operations, I also encourage you to be firm on criminals because FCT is not the place for them.
“At the end of the training, we are going to strategise in such a way that residents of the FCT will know about the existence of NSCDC FCT command.
“We are going to take the fight to the doorsteps of all criminals, scavengers, vandals and all who make life unbearable for residents,” he said.
The FCT NSCDC helmsman said that the trained personnel were drawn from area commands, divisional offices, departments and units of the command.
He further said that after the training, trained officers and men will be deployed to strategic areas to carry out some strategic security assignments.
“The training couldn’t have come at a better time than this in view of the various security challenges we are experiencing in the territory.
“I find it necessary to organise this training and retraining programme such that it would refresh our skills and ability to deliver on the mandate given to us,” he said.
The commandant reiterated the Commandant General (CG), Ahmed Audi’s commitment to ensure better service delivery through training and re-training of personnel.
In a statement, he recalled that the command had carried out various security patrols which had resulted in the arrest of no fewer than 85 scavengers, miscreants and criminals who hide under the pretext of being destitute to carry out nefarious activities.