Shina Peller, a member of the house of representatives, says
the motive of the bill seeking to scrap the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence
Corps (NSCDC) was misunderstood.
Peller, who represents Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa
federal constituency in Oyo state, sponsored the bill which has passed first
reading at the house of representatives.
The NSCDC had in a letter, dated February 2, 2022, ordered
the withdrawal of officers attached to Peller after the bill became public
knowledge.
The withdrawn officers were later reinstated after the
agency said the letter was sent “without clearance”.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the lawmaker explained
that the bill seeks to merge the agency with the Nigeria police force “to
achieve better results in policing”.
“The bill does not in any way seek to render people jobless
rather the bill proposes the transfer of assets and personnel of the NSCDC to
the Nigeria police. In other words, assets and personnel will be absorbed by
the police; so there won’t be loss of jobs,” he said.
“Recall that the NSCDC was established by statute in the year
2003 to exist and operate as an ancillary force, assisting the Nigeria police
force (NPF) in maintaining public order, engaging with civilian populations in
times of emergency, and other such adjunct functions.
“The creation of the
Corps was supposed to free officers and men of the Nigeria police force (NPF)
to focus on their core policing operations of protecting lives and ensuring the
security of property.
“Since then, the nature of the NSCDC has changed. Rather
than exist as, and perform the role of an ancillary force, the NSCDC now
includes an armed component and performs policing functions across the country.
Predictably, this overlap of functions and jurisdictions has led to increasing
conflicts between the NSCDC and the Nigerian Police.
“Nigeria is faced with an unprecedented wave of different
but overlapping security crisis, therefore, the government and legislature must
be aggressively innovative in considering better options for a more effective
national security architecture.
“This proposed bill should serve as a trigger to
constructive debates and conversations that end with substantive reforms in the
best interest of the nation.”
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