September 25, (THEWILL) – The Commandant General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Audi, has said Nigerians are not ripe to be allowed to bear arms.
Dr Audi made the observation when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.
He said: “I strongly disapproved of it. Even now that there is no law in existence, you still have proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the hands of people.
“It has to do with civilisation and education.
“Even in Europe and America where they have that law where virtually everybody once you can drive can have arms, they are trying to control it now because of how some events unfold.
“In the world, especially in Europe and America, somebody will just wake up and just go to a school and open fire on kids. You know that is madness. And so for me, I don’t think we are there yet to allow citizens carry arms.”
The CG also spoke on the efforts being made by the NSCDC to address farmers/herders clashes in the country.
He said that the Corps, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, had trained over 3,000 Agro Rangers to provide security to farms and other agro allied investments.
The CG said that the unit was a specialised department, which also help to reconcile farmers and herders.
“They are still there and presently we have even trained about 3,000 of them and as you can even see me sitting here, this is their uniform, the uniform of Agro Rangers.
“They are under a department called Peace and Conflict Resolution, and using Alternative Dispute Resolution, they have settled over 1000 cases between farmers and herders nationwide.
“You can see them visibly in Borno, Yobe, Kaduna, Adamawa, Enugu and they are there doing their work”, he said.
Audi also dismissed insinuations of conflict of responsibility between NSCDC and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
He said the corps was a specialised agency created by Nigerian government charged with a very specialised function as encapsulated in the national security strategy document approved by the office of the National Security Adviser.
According to him, it is stated very clearly there that the corps is a lead agency in the area of critical national assets and infrastructure.
“Now, agreed that the police is in charge of internal security. So what we expect in the area of pipeline vandalism is that when other agencies arrest they handover to us like from the Navy, the Army, they handover to us and we prosecute because we have the mandate.
“If you read, if you check the document, Petroleum Sabotage Act, it is stated clearly that it is Civil Defence and EFCC that has the power to prosecute oil thieves and it is very clear there and perhaps sometimes we go for advice too because of their experience.
“We go to get advice from Navy and other institutions for guide because they are in the high sea and they have been arresting these people.
“And so when they hand over to us, we prosecute and then once we take to court, we leave it for the judiciary to decide on whatever happens to them”, he explained.
Audi said there was no basis for the call for merger of NSCDC and Police, saying the corps had remained focused on doing its job without any form of contest with anyone.
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