Joseph Inokotong, Abuja
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has warned states in the country against the establishment of private security outfits while urging them to register such organisation with the corps.
This warning came as result of agitation by some states to float their security unit to tackle insecurity within their domains. The corps disclosed that already Niger State government has registered the state security outfit with NSCDC, as the only agency empowered by law and saddled with the statutory responsibility of registering, monitoring, supervising and licensing of private security outfit in the country.
It explained that on the strength of this, licence to operate has been issued, while a state like Taraba has also been registered and it’s waiting for the signing of its licence by the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. In a statement issued by the CDPRO Emmanuel Okeh in Abuja yesterday, he said the Commandant General (CG) of NSCDCs, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu made this known while suggesting the way forward in building strong security architecture for the nation.
According to him, its essence is to work towards collective security of the environment and the nation at large, which is the reason why every state government is thinking of establishing a security body to fight crime and criminality. He noted that the nation can be saved if the rules of the game in securing the state and the country are carried out within the confines of the law.
The NSCDC boss therefore enjoined all prospective security operatives to be law-abiding in the quest for establishing any security outfit, in as much as their desire is geared towards national peace and security.