The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC has said it has arrested no fewer than 501 suspected vandals and oil thieves between January and August 2022. The Corps also secured 49 convictions and destroyed 71 illegal refineries within the same period. Commandant General of the Corps, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi said this in Abuja at the commissioning of 93 operational vehicles procured by management team for protection of critical national assets and infrastructure across the country. To win the war, the NSCDC CG said his agency and other stakeholders must be ready to enforce relevant laws without any compromise, no matter whose ox is gored. He said “from January 2022 to date, the corps has made about 501 arrests of suspected vandals and oil thieves, while about 49 convictions have been secured 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 reorganise a fresh anti-vandal unit as directed by the honourable Minister of Interior.” Commissioning the vehicles, Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola said the action is part of government’s efforts towards addressing the challenge of insecurity in the country as it takes steady and bold steps to degrade the activities of some criminally minded unpatriotic individuals and saboteurs. As we all aware, there are challenges of vandalism of critical national assets and infrastructure, theft of crude and refined oil, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, ritual killings and insurgency, among other heinous crimes that have become a cankerworm that must be eliminated. The incessant attacks on our Critical National Assets and Infrastructure in particular has become a grievous wound dangerously bleeding the nation’s economy and which must be effectively addressed, checkmated and curbed. We cannot continue to watch innocent Nigerians being constantly harassed, intimidated and cowed while precious lives are being terminated prematurely. We cannot also be aloof or pretend to be unaware of the incessant vandalism and theft of our valuable national assets and infrastructure and our territory turned to a theatre of bloodshed and anguish by bandits.
“We have routed these gangs and individuals in all their bases and put them on the run. 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”, he stated.
