The Yobe command of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), on Thursday, launched a special programme to coordinate activities of private security guard firms and vigilance groups for supervision and monitoring.
Dr Muhammad Fari, the NSCDC Commandant in the state, said at the launch in Damaturu that the programme was for private security guard operators.
He said that the programme became imperative “as the state steps out of the insurgency challenge to a post-insurgency era.
“The NSCDC is by law, mandated to supervise and monitor the activities of private security guard companies and what we are doing is to ensure that operators comply with the laws.
“This is the first time in Yobe that stakeholders in private security are brought together to ensure that they abide by the rules regulating private security guard operations in Nigeria.”
Fari added that security of lives and property was a cardinal objective of government “and NSCDC is working in collaboration with other security organisations to actualize this objective.”
The commandant said NSCDC would liaise with Yobe Government to sensitise vigilance groups on the recruitment of members, mode of operation and their limitations to ensure that they operated within the confines of the law.
“We will discuss with the state government on the activities of the vigilance groups and their operation within the provisions of the law to avoid abuse,” he said.
He then urged private security guard firms to be mindful of who they employed and ensure that people of good standing in the society served as guarantors to their employees to avoid recruiting questionable characters.
He appealed to the public to provide security agencies with timely information on security threats, suspicious movements and persons in their communities for a proactive approach to defusing such threats and avoidable casualties.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the companies expressed commitment to work with NSCDC and other organisations to promote security in the state.
