By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has dissolved its Anti-Vandalism Units nationwide.
This was disclosed by Mr Ahmed Audi, its Commandant-General (CG), who gave the order for the dissolution on Tuesday in Abuja at a meeting with senior officers and all state Commandants of the Corp.
He said there had been insinuations and reports in the public domain that security operatives were likely involved in oil theft and related crimes.
“There are also reports that our officers are doing their jobs, but not satisfactorily enough,” Mr Audi said.
He added that the disbanded squad would be reconstituted in due time for better service delivery.
He noted that the issue of oil theft had been of great concern to the federal government and warned that the corps would not condone sabotage or compromise in the protection of oil installations.
Mr Audi also directed that all illegal roadblocks by the Anti-Vandalism squads be dismantled immediately.
“We have gotten information that some roadblocks were not approved, so those are the ones that will be dismantled,” he said.
This is coming after a recent viral video showed some NSCDC personnel in acts of extortion.
Mr Audi said he has directed an investigative and disciplinary panel to look into the situation surrounding the report in the video and suggest disciplinary actions to be taken if any.
There have been claims that Nigeria’s security agencies were involved with the continued theft of crude oil that caused the nation to lose about $1 billion in revenue. The menace has also made it impossible for the country to attain its daily production quota.
Modupe Gbadeyanka