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Tag: Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps

  • Army seeks collaboration with security agencies to tackle insurgency

     The Nigerian Army has called for closer collaboration with security agencies in Borno, to facilitate successful implementation of the counter-insurgency campaign.

    Brig.-Gen. Texas Chukwu, the Director, Army Public Relations, in a statement issued on Saturday in Maiduguri, quoted Brig.-Gen. Bulama Biu, the Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division, as making the call at a meeting with heads of security agencies in the state.

    According to the statement Biu called for synergy and cooperation towards evolving new strategies in the ongoing fight against insurgency and other sundry crimes.

    Biu stressed the need for routine interaction between stakeholders with a view to strengthen cooperation, intelligent and information sharing among them.

    Read Also:Missing General: Army clarifies rumour on military operations

    While commending the agencies for discharging their duties effectively, Biu called for proactive measures to review strategies to meet the security challenges occasioned by the political transition period.

    Biu reminded the agencies of the need to be proactive so as not to allow breach of peace and checkmate unholy political gatherings.

    The meeting was attended by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Damian Chukwu, Comptroller of Customs, AB Abdullahi, and the Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ibrahim Abdullahi.

    Others were Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ijafaru Bukar, and Comptroller, Nigerian Immigration Service, Abdulfattah Adamu, among others.

  • NSCDC rescues 12 victims of human trafficking in Edo

    The Edo Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it has rescued about 12 victims of human trafficking and child labour in the past five months.

    Mr Makinde Ayinla, State Commandant of the Corps, disclosed this on Friday in Benin during a one day workshop on the menace of human trafficking and illegal migration.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the workshop with the theme: “Sensitisation of Students on the Menace of Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration was organised by the Edo Command of the NSCDC.

    Ayinla said that it had become imperative for the corps to sensitise students on the ills of human trafficking in view of the prevalent danger victims were exposed and subjected to.

    He noted that human trafficking had claimed the lives of many Nigerian citizens, making early sensitisation of students imperative.

    The commandant said that the first sentence of the Act establishing the Corps which is “Security of Lives and Properties”, highlighted the need for the corps to join in the fight against the menace.

    Ayinla noted that the power of a nation lay with factors such as security, education, manpower, technological know-how and the youths.

    Read Also: Ogun NSCDC rescues suspected kidnapper from being lynched

    According to him, the youths suffer the most in African nations even though they are the backbone of the development of any nation in the world.

    He listed the challenges confronting the youths to child labour, street hawking, rape, prostitution, trafficking and illegal migration.

    He said the effects of these challenges on the victims were sometimes devastating.

    Ayinla said that the workshop would be an eye-opener to students, parents and stakeholders on the need to intensify efforts at curbing the menace.

  • Exercise peaceful, says NSCDC

    As far as the Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Osun State Command Aboluwoye Akinwande is concerned, the governorship poll was peaceful.

    Akinwande told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) the election was so far peaceful, adding that NSCDC officers were also on ground in all the polling units across the state to maintain peace.

    “All the officers have been deployed to their various polling units, divisions and the state in general.

    “They are already on ground and the election has started. While I was on patrol this morning, I saw a lot of people going to their various polling units and the polling units I passed through were very peaceful.

    “There is no disturbance,” he said.

    He however noted that there were certain pockets of challenges that had to do with the political status of most of the contestants.

    “Let me start with APC; the APC candidate, who happens to be the former Chief of Staff of the state.

    “The PDP candidate also happens to be a federal senator. The SDP contestant happens to be a former senator and a former deputy governor and he is still very active in politics.

    “Also the ADP candidate happens to be a former Secretary to State Government of Osun State before he decamped to ADP.

    “He has also been a grassroots politician from ACN to AD to even APC and now to ADP. So he is a grassroots man.

    “So we have all these people contesting and when they are contesting, you will find out that there might be some pockets of challenges, ”he said.

    Akinwande also noted due to some of these challenges, some thugs had been arrested, while some have been charged to court.

    According to him, these are some of the challenges we are having but thank God the challenges have been solved.

    Akinwande however said that a huge number of NSCDC officers had been deployed to Osun to ensure peaceful conduct of the election.

    “Aside from Osun, we have officers and men from Ogun, Lagos, Ondo, Kwara and Kogi, who are actively involved in this gubernatorial election; so you could imagine the type of deployment.

    “There are also deployments from the National headquarters. We have from the Directorate of Rescue Management, Peace and Conflict and Kennel.

    “We have officers from Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Squad, Chemical Biological Radioactive and Nuclear Explosives, among others.

    “All these are just to tell you about the deployment and how active the NSCDC has been in ensuring a peaceful election in the state,” he said

     

  • ‘Politicians recruiting armed thugs’

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Borno yesterday decried the recruitment of armed thugs for political campaigns in the state.

    Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, the NSCDC commandant in the state, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri the command had noticed an influx of thugs at campaign grounds.

    Abdullahi said the thugs were being used by politicians to intimidate opponents at political rallies.

    “Such actions by the politicians could mar the fragile peace recorded. The insurgents can equally disguise among them to perpetrate unsuspected attacks.

    “We, therefore, warn politicians that these nefarious activities are contrary to Section 227 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) and sections 94 and 95 of the Electoral Act,’’ he said.

  • Illegal mining: NSCDC arrest six suspects in C/River

    Cross River Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it  has arrested six suspected illegal miners  in Biase Local Government Area of  the state.

    NSCDC Commandant in Anambra, Mr Stephen Lar, told our reporter on Wednesday in Calabar that the suspects were arrested at a mining site on Monday.

    Lar said that the command had declared zero tolerance for illegal mining due to increasing activities of unlicensed miners in the state.

    According to him, NSCDC was saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the nation’s economy is not sabotaged.

    “Mining is the statutory responsibility of the Federal Government, anybody who engages in mining must obtain a licence from the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.

    “We were informed of these illegal activities through a tip off in Biase Local Government Area of the state.

    “Illegal mining has become a lucrative activity in that area and my men swung into action and arrested these people in the act.

    “We are going to carry out an intensive investigation to find out from the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel if they have license to operate or not.

    “After that, we can prosecute them in the court of law to serve as a deterrent to others’’, he said.

    The commandant told our reporter that the command had reduced cases of vandalism and oil bunkering to the barest minimum in the state, saying that the command was now handling illegal mining.

    Read Also: Mining ministry accesses N15b intervention fund

    “The eagle eye of NSCDC is everywhere, residents in Cross River should shun all acts of illegality because the law will not respect anybody found wanting.

    He said that since he took over the command two months ago, he has arraigned 24 suspects  for various crimes, particularly in the oil sector.

    “We have achieved a lot during this short period that I resumed work here; I must commend all  the officers and men of this command for their  efforts in fighting all forms of illegality.

    One of the suspects told our reporter  that he was a staff of one of the mining companies in Biase.

    “My company did not ask me to go in search of the precious stones and I don’t have any licence to operate.

    “I only got information that there is a new target area that has large precious stones, that was why I had to take some guys along with me to the place.

    “The area where I got the precious stones does not fall within my company’s area, I only went there to get them  and sell in order to buy food to eat’’, he explained.

  • Eid-El-Kabir: NSCDC deploys 1,500 personnel in Ondo state

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), says it has deployed 1,500 personnel in Ondo state to protect lives and property during the Eid-el Kabir festival.

    Mr Pedro Awili, NSCDC State Commandant, disclosed this in an interview with our reporters on Saturday in Akure.

    Awili said that the deployment was in line with the directive and operational order from the NSCDC Commander-General, Abdulahi Gana to roll out for proper monitoring and protection of people of the state.

    According to him, the security agency will be on the street to further protect lives and property; and our men will be on standby day and night during and after the Muslim festival.

    “So, for this year Eid-el Kabir, 1,500 of our men have been deployed in order to ensure that no criminal element is allowed to operate across all the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.

    Read Also: Oyo NSCDC arrests vendors of new naira notes

    “As usual, we are doing this in collaboration with other security agencies. This is part of social responsibility of the command to protect people of the state.

    “Meanwhile, we have all agreed that there no stone will be left unturned and we are going to ensure that whoever commits crime will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly,” he said.

    The commandant warned that whoever intends to commit crime should relocate to other state, saying his command would not tolerate any criminality in the state.

    “For those who intend to commit crime. We want to remind them that Ondo State is now a safe haven for everybody and there is no hiding place for criminals,” he said.

    Awili, who urged the Muslims faithful to be security conscious during their celebration, advised them to show love to adherents of other faiths

    “Let me appeal to our Muslim brothers and sisters that they should not take laws into their hands because this is time to show love and extend their love to Christians, while Christians should also extend their love to the Muslims” he said.

     

    NAN

     

  • Furore over INEC’s N198bn election budget proposal

    …As N/A joint committee puts off consideration

    There seems to be no respite yet for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding its N 189.2 billion budget proposal for the 2019 general elections.

    The joint committee of the National Assembly on Friday put on hold further consideration on the proposal as the legislators failed to resolve some grey areas in the proposal.

    At issue was the differences in modalities between the estimates sent to the legislature by President Muhammadu Buhari and the version submitted to the lawmakers by INEC, even though the figures were the same.

    In his letter to the National Assembly, the President had requested that N143 billion be processed for now, while the remaining N45 billion should processed with the 2019 annual budget.

    But in its own proposal, the INEC requested that the N189.2 billion be processed in one fell swoop, a request that raised dissenting voices among the lawmakers.

    Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma who made a presentation to the committee, aligned with the position of INEC.

    Apparently mindful of the delay in the passage of the yearly national budget, Udoma argued that shifting the processing of the N45 billion to the 2019 budget might put INEC in a tight corner.

    For instance, the 2018 budget was passed in May, just as it was in the two preceding years. On the other hand, INEC would have concluded all elections by March 2019.

    The Minister clarified that the N189 billion request, as presented by the President, was to be vired from funds already appropriated for some projects in the 2018 budget.

    He was however, quick to clarify that the such virement would not affect the N100 billion already allocated to constituency projects of National Assembly members.

    But the lawmakers were divided on whether to isolate the N143 billion meant for INEC from the N45 billion meant for the various security agencies for election duties.

    Read Als0: Sowore’s party gets INEC nod

    The affected security agencies include the office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Immigration Service.

    Some of the legislators argued that the processing of the budget proposal for the security agencies was outside the committee’s mandate, opting to refer that aspect to the Security Committee of the two chambers of the legislature.

    But some others canvassed that it should be accommodated in the ongoing process because the N45 billion budget for security was part of election expenses.

    Another area of disagreement was the source of funding for the N189.2 billion with the lawmakers sharply divided over where over the matter.

    In the course of deliberations, some of the committee members said the source of funding should be left to the Appropriation Committee of the National Assembly to decide.

    In his letter to the National Assembly, President Buhari had raised issues about source of funding for the entire election budget, reason why he requested that only N143 billion be processed for now.

    Relying on the President’s position, the lawmakers pointed out that processing the N189 billion at this point would overshoot the 2018 national budget, as passed by the legislature and assented to by the President.

    At every point the chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu was given the opportunity to make his contribution; he kept reeling out the deadline for the first round of elections in the commission’s timetable by counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds.

    At a point, some of the committee members jocularly said they were being intimidated by the INEC chairman’s time count.

    Eventually, the meeting concluded that the committee would limit its consideration to the N143 billion the President tabled before the legislature for immediate action.

    They resolved to commence deliberation on the N45 billion for the security agencies as promptly as the President presents that request to them, even before the end of the year.

    On this note, the chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Suleiman Nazif adjourned the session indefinitely.

  • Oyo NSCDC arrests new naira notes vendors

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), Oyo state Command on Friday paraded ten people for selling the Nigerian currency notes in an operation that lasted two days across various place in the capital city.

    The arrested illegal currency notes sellers were paraded at the Commands headquarters Office, Agodi Secretariat road, Ibadan.

    The offence was said to be against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, Section 20 which kicks against counterfeiting, hawking, selling or otherwise trade in the Naira notes, coins or any other note issued by the apex bank.

    Those arrested include, Dotun Wahab (34), Kunle Oladipupo (35), Tijani Abodun (32), Eniola Waheed (22) and Olanrewaju Adepoju (35).

    Others are Obisesan Olalekan (31), Gbenga Omowaye (40), Samson Ojewola (24), Akintola Gboyega (37) and Anifat Abiodun (38).

    Read Also: NSCDC generates N4m revenue in Oyo state

    Over one million naira fresh banknotes consisting of various denominations were recovered from the suspects.

    The State Commandant, Dr John Adewoye said investigations have already commended on the matter to ascertain the source or otherwise of the new naira notes.

    While addressing the press, the Commandant assures that the NSCDC and the apex bank will continue the clamp down on the perpetrators of the illegal act, pointing out that the CBN Act 2007 already prescribed a jail term of not less than six months or fine of N50, 000 or both for offenders.

    Adewoye assured that those arrested would be charged to court as soon as investigation into the matter is concluded.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, act of spraying the Naira notes at occasions, selling and writing on it, squeezing handling as well as counterfeit of the country currency notes are abuse of the naira and are punishable by the law”, the Oyo NSCDC boss warned.

     

  • FRSC partners police, military, others on highway security

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Bayelsa State Command, has teamed up with the police, the military and other sister security agencies to ensure security on the highways.

    At a workshop in Yenagoa at the weekend, FRSC emphasized the need for synergy between the corps and security agencies to tackle highway insecurity.

    The FRSC said all the security agencies – military and paramilitary, were saddled with the same goal of maintaining law and order in the country.

    The workshop was attended by personnel of the FRSC, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security services.

    The  Zonal Commanding Officer, FRSC, Port Harcourt Zone, Mr. Kingsley Agomoh,  said traffic management was becoming increasingly complex in Nigeria.

    He commended the Bayelsa State Command of the corps for building the capacity of its staff, noting that the command was ranked third in the whole country during the assessments of states in traffic management.

    Addressing the participants, the State Sector Commander, Mr. Ikechukwu Igwe, said the workshop, entitled, “Highway Security: Need for Synergy’”, was aimed at building trust among personnel to work in collaboration with other sister agencies for the interest of peace and tranquility in the state.

    Read Also: FRSC begins recruitment of new personnel — Spokesman

    The Sector Commander harped on the need for partnership to ensure protection of lives and properties on the highway.

    Ikechukwu said: “During this workshop, we are going to look at the advantages of working together instead of working in isolation. Security job is just like a tyre in a vehicle. The tyre carries the vehicle.

    “When you look at the tyre, you have rims and other parts. No one can work without the other. You remove the valve, it will not work; you remove the rim, it will not work, you can see that each one needs the other to function.

    “For instance,  I cannot say because I am a road safety official, I see a stolen car and I will not report to the police; I cannot see a person carrying illicit drugs and fail to report to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

    “I cannot say because I am a road safety official, I will see somebody carrying children in a way that looks suspicious and I will not alert NAPTIP or Immigration. We see that one way or the other, we need one another.

    “At the officers’ level, we do not have problems. But at the lower levels, there is need for a synergy and that is why we have come together to look at ways we can contribute  so that we can achieve the purpose for which the government pays all of us.”

    In his remarks, the Bayelsa State Police Commissioner, Mr. Don Awunah,  said that inter-agency relation was necessary to achieve maximum security for the people.

    Awunah, represented by a police officer, Osagi Agans-Irabor, noted that joint operations were good, saying it would in the system execution of their duties.

    He said; “When we collaborate, we can complement each other’s weakness and strength. I commend the FRSC for this workshop and we will continue to support each other in securing the environment.”

    On his part, the State Commandant, NSCDC, Godwin Nwachukwu, said the command was also ready to support the FRSC operations to ensure more security on the highway.

    Nwachukwu said:  “Individually, we cannot achieve it, but when we do it collectively, we can have better results.

    “We must support each other because we (the Army, Navy among others) are working towards achieving the same objectives.

  • Teacher molest four years girl in Niger

    A four year old girl in Minna on Tuesday identified one of her teacher, 19 years old Victor Opute as the one who molested her in school.

    Out of the 19 teachers of the private school brought out, the girl picked Opute from the crowd.

    The Nation learnt that Opute lured the little girl to the school toilet where he reportedly abused her.

    One of the officials in the school found her crying after the deed was done and when asked, she explained what happened to the official who took up the issue.

    The school authority invited security agents and assembled all the male staff in the school for screening purposely to identify who was behind the illegal act, out of which there were selected.

    Out of the assembly, the victim was brought and she identified Opute as the person that abused her while the suspect admitted to committing the crime.

    The security agents from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)  arrested the suspect and transferred the case to the Child’s Right Agency for further prosecution.

    The state Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr Philip Ayuba who confirmed the incident said the Corps will continue to monitor the case to ensure that the Suspect is punished.