The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has reinstated the security aides of a member of the House of Representatives Shina Peller who had proposed the scrapping of the corps.
Peller, who represents lseyin/ltesiwaju/ Kajola/lwajowa Federal Constituency in Oyo State, had proposed before the House to scrap the NSCDC and merge it with the Nigeria Police Force.
The lawmaker proposed the bill via the National Security And Civil Defence Corps (Repeal and Transition) Bill 2022, which passed the first reading on Tuesday.
Peller had sought to repeal the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (Amendment) Act 2007, establish a transition management committee to superintend over the NSCDC, develop regulations and implement procedures for the transfer of assets and personnel of the corps to the Nigeria Police Force, and other related matters.
In the bill, Peller noted that “fragmentation of security resources across multiple competing agencies is counterproductive.”
Following his move, Peller’s security aides were withdrawn on Wednesday.
Head of administration, Oyo State Command of NSCDC, Sotito Igbalawole, in a letter dated February 2, 2022 claimed that the withdrawal of the men was necessitated by “the urgent national need.”
“Following the directive of the Commandant General on the necessity of the deployment of the command personnel for an urgent national security assignment; on behalf of the state commandant, I hereby withdraw all personnel attached to you.
“This is to meet up with the urgent national need. All inconvenience this might cause is highly regretted,” the letter read.
However, NSCDC commandant general, Ahmed Audi, intervened and reversed the withdrawal of the security aides in a statement issued on Wednesday evening.
“The leadership of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has dismissed as unauthorised and without recourse to the Corps constituted authority, a letter signed and sent to a Member of the House of Representatives, Hon Shima Peller, informing him of the withdrawal of officials of the NSCDC assigned to him,” NSCDC spokesperson Odumosu Olusola said in the statement.
“Not only did the officer in question lack the power to do such, he was also found to have acted on his whims without clearance.
“The Commandant General, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, has therefore directed a reinstatement of the withdrawn officers with a compliment of necessary courtesies to the Honourable Member.”
