The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) has said it has arrested suspected vandals and oil thieves, got 49 convicted and destroyed 71 illegal refineries destroyed between January 2022 to August.
The Corps has, however, acquired 93 new operational vehicles to fight insecurity and crimes across the country.
Speaking Thursday at the commissioning event of the newly acquired operational vehicles, Commandant General of the Corps, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, said the oorganisation is the key agency charge with the responsibility to maintain protection to critical national assets and infrastructure across the country.
According to the NSCDC boss, many public opinions have argued that the crime of oil theft, illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism had lingered in the country for so long due to either the collusion of security agents or their inability to effectively enforce relevant laws.
To win the war, the NSCDC CG said his agency and other stakeholders must be ready to enforce the relevant laws without iota of compromise, no matter whose ox is gored, as that is how several nations were able to win the fight.
“For instance, from January, 2022 to date the corps has made about 501 arrests of suspected vandals and oil thieves, while about 49 convictions have been secure with about 71 illegal refineries destroyed.
“These vehicles acquired are to be used by the Corps to combat all that seems to be potential threats to national security, resulting from felonious acts such as crude oil theft, bunkering, smuggling, pipeline vandalism and other crimes within the coastal and offshore areas including providing protection to Critical national assets infrastructure (CNAI).
“As it is at the moment, our nation is passing through an unsystematic form of conflict which has never been before. This conflict is identified as ‘Asymmetric warfare’, tracing its antecedent to many devastating effects to countries like, Syria, Yemen Sri-Lanka among others.
“To that effect, the NSCDC anti-vandal units/departments which transverse across all State Commands and formations in the country were recently dissolved, road blocks dismantled, while committees constituted to reorganize a fresh anti-vandal unit as directed by the honourable Minister of Interior.”
While commissioning the new vehicles, Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola, described the occasion as a “radical and proactive steps by government towards addressing the challenge of insecurity in the country.
“We shall not relent but remain absolutely committed towards extirpating them completely from our land.
“It is to this end that we are working assiduously to sufficiently equip the security agencies to further enhance their capacity, skills and competences to complete this urgent national mission.
Transportation is a critical need of any security agency.
“Solid and efficient vehicles are needed to move personnel and materiel. They are also needed to get to any site of threat within the shortest possible time and carry out chase, when necessary. When these are lacking, operations are stalled, weak and ineffective.”
