NSCDC

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has deployed 1,400 personnel to major highways in Kogi to complement regular officers to provide security and ease vehicular traffic during the yuletide.

Mr Philip Ayodele, Commandant of the Kogi Command of the NSCDC, made this known to newsmen in Lokoja on Saturday.

He mentioned the strategic plans and activities of the command for the yuletide in state.

Ayodele said that the deployed and regular officers of the corps had been placed on red alert to provide adequate security for the citizens and motorists from Kogi and other states, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.

He said that the command had extended its operations to major highways, through its collaborative effort with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to reduce road accidents due to the busy traffic flow during the period.

Ayodele noted that Kogi State was bordered by 10 states and the FCT and, therefore, required proactive strategy to nip inter-state criminal activities in the bud.

He said that the corps’ “unorthodox operational methods’’ had always caught criminals off guard, saying that the command had mapped out strategies and also submitted its operational drive to the entire sister agencies.

Ayodele said: “Apart from the regular personnel, over 1,400 have been mobilised to the state to provide security and smooth flow of traffic to motorists and to ensure a crime free celebration.

“The location of Kogi state has made it a hotspot in this period of Christmas and New Year celebrations.’’

On the resurgence of kidnapping and armed robbery on Obajana-Oshokoshoko-Kabba road in Western axis of the state, the commandant said a joint operation of all the security agencies had been planned to secure the route.

“We are not limiting it to an agency alone. We have resolved that the menace of kidnapping and armed robbery will be jointly tackled by all security agencies in the state.

“We are on top of the situation,’’ Ayodele said.

On the forthcoming general elections, the commandant said that the NSCDC and other security agencies were ready to provide security and ensure safety of lives and property before, during and after the elections.

He, however, decried the destruction of opponents’ billboards and posters by hoodlums, saying that the NSCDC was training a special team that would handle that particular type of crime.

Ayodele noted that ensuring free, fair and credible elections was the collective responsibility of the entire citizenry.

He urged parents not to allow their children and wards to be used as political thugs by desperate politicians.