Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has warned states in the country against the establishment of private security outfits and urged them to register such organisations with the corps, following agitation by some states to float their own security units 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 licencing of private security outfits 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 awaiting the signing of its licence by the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
In a statement issued by the CDPRO Emmanuel Okeh in Abuja, he said the Commandant-General (CG) of NSCDCs, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu made this known while charting the way forward in building strong security architecture for the nation. He said 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.
The CG “warned against illegal operatives of private security services and emphasized that the operation of every private security outfit must be guarded by the Private Guard Company Act (CAP. 1990), and the guidelines as enshrined in the NSCDC Act. 2003 as amended in 2007; therefore, any security outfit established contrary to the existing act shall face the wrath of the law.”
He noted that the nation can be saved if jointly the rules of the game in securing the state and the country are carried out within the confines of the law. The NSCDC boss further 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
