From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Propelled by the need to determine the all-round fitness of its officers and men to bear arms, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) has established the Forensic and Behavioural Unit FBU.
Speaking during the Forensic Certification for Officers and Men of the Benue State Command of the NSCDC on Tuesday, Commandant General (CG) of the Corps, Ahmed Audi said it became necessary to create the unit to be able to ascertain the psychological fitness of officers and men of the Corps.
Represented by the Benue State Commandant of NSCDC, Philip Okoh, the CG sensitized officers and men on the approved policy for the creation of Forensic and Behavioural Unit of the Corps as part of efforts to reposition the Corps towards effective discharge of its mandate by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.
“Since assumption of office as the CG to pilot the affairs of this noble security agency, I have been monitoring trends and I realized that, integration of FBU services into the mainstream of the Corps would be a proactive measure to meeting the obligation of crime prevention, arrest of crime and prosecution.”
He added further that the training is to ensure that trainees gain insight into the consequences of their behaviours while they also benefit from professional interventions aimed at changing their cognitive styles for proper functioning of the society as well as promote citizens’ dignity and integrity.
Audi listed the approved Policy direction to enhance the operations of the Forensic and Behavioral Unit to include a mandatory evidence-based psychological assessment, evaluation and fitness for duty test for all regular Corps personnel and newly recruited personnel of the Corps.
The policy, according to him, is also to determine their level of preparedness, Psychological fitness and suitability for any given task and also determine where their potentials could best be utilized.
The CG vowed that his administration would continue to be committed to revamping the Corps towards effective discharge of its mandate and projecting the Corporate image of the Corps.
“The vision is targeted towards training, welfare and professionalism. “Today, we are here gathered in a pilot session to implement policy measures and particularly, to identify personnel with suitable psychological statuses to bear firearms.
“Recall that, the recorded incidences of unprofessional conduct and misuse of firearms was my initial warning to all of you and the exercise for today is meant to help us determine who is fit for a given task.
On his part, Head of Forensic and Behavioural Unit, NSCDC Abuja, Tersoo Shaapera stressed the need for an evidence-based forensic psychological assessment and evaluation of personnel before they are selected into the armed squad of the service.
Earlier in a remark, Head of Training of the Command, Chuwkuemeka Nwomah disclosed that 403 personnel were currently undergoing training to bear arms in the Command.