The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, PhD, mni, has expressed shock and dismay at allegations leveled against the anti-vandal unit of the Corps’ Rivers State Command by the state’s Executive Governor, Nyisom Wike, in which the team was accused of assisting and abetting vandals and illegal bunkerers to carry out their nefarious activities in the state.
Concerned by this unsatisfactory event, the governor has ordered the suspension of the anti-vandal team’s leader and the disbandment of the unit with immediate effect, pending the outcome of an independent investigation into the governor’s serious claims against the unit.
He stated that the current rules and regulations governing NSCDC operations, as well as the basic ethics of the service, demand that all Corps staff demonstrate total discipline, integrity, incorruptibility, transparency, and accountability, which is why this immediate action is necessary.
He also ordered the Acting DCG in charge of investigation and intelligence to summon all employees implicated to the National Headquarters in Abuja for further inquiry in order to identify their level of complicity and/or responsibility in order to properly administer justice.
He promised that he would get to the bottom of the problem as quickly as possible, promising tighter collaboration with the state administration in order to ensure more effective service delivery to Rivers state’s decent people. Furthermore, his administration has arrived with new vigor to reposition the service in accordance with global best practices, and will not accept any act of sabotage by any employee, no matter how senior or junior.
Audi stressed that, as the primary agency in the protection of important national assets and infrastructure, the Corps administration will focus more attention on this area by reforming and reconstituting the anti-vandal unit to make it more responsive, transparent, and accountable to Nigerians.
