The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu has told members of Batch 7 2018 Special Basic Weapon Handling Training trainee that the training is to equip them with the basic rules of engagement in arms handling in order to tackle security challenges bedeviling the nation in recent time.
He gave this warning while addressing the graduands at the at the passing out parade of of 150 personnel of the Corps, at the Corps Academy, Sauka Airport Road, Abuja
The commandant in a press statement signed by DCC Emmanuel Okeh CDPRO congratulated them for a successful training programme and charged them to always abide by the rules of engagement guiding arms bearing.
Gana stressed that as trained personnel, there should be no accidental discharge and misuse of fire arms as they are to protect and defend the defenceless and not to harass and intimidate them with the arms, ”be civil in your approach and do not allow provocation to push you into misfiring or getting involved in accidental discharge or negligence discharge as the Corps will not tolerate such”, he added.
He said, the Honourable Minister of Interior Abdulrahman Danbazzau in his wisdom has granted the Corps the opportunity to train its personnel on arms bearing as against the earlier approved arms squad. This he said was necessitated as a result of the enormous tasks and responsibilities of the Corps as regards to its expanded mandate.
The training he reiterated its meant for all personnel nationwide considering the various requests for the deployment of the Corps Arms bearer for different assignment.
Gana stated that, since the Corps is involved in Civil security, that means its responsibility encompasses every other aspects of security such as environmental security, food security, Energy Security, Communication Security, Educational Security, personal security among others, therefore, the need for continuous training and retraining of personnel on arms its paramount in order to meet up with the demand especially the request by the Honourable Minister of Agriculture for the Corps to provide 5000 personnel for Agro Rangers in order to protect the Ranches to be established by the Federal Government and Agro Allied Investment.
Similarly the Ministry of Solid Minerals also requested for 3000 armed personnel to protect mining sites against illegal miners as well as the deployment of the personnel to NorthEast to protect IDP Camps, to set up peace clinics in order to win peace in liberated areas since the military have won the war.
The Ministry of Water Resources, JAMB, NECO, NDE and the host of others have also made their intention known in requesting for arms personnel to protect their investments and infrastructure.
He said, all these requests orchestrated the need for the arms training considering the confidence the Government and the tax payers have on the Corps.
As the Chief Welfare Officer, he re-echoed ones again that his administration is committed to staff welfare and it remains the top priority in his agenda,, therefore he will always ensure that personnel gets what belong to them with ease and as at when due.
He used the event to appeal to personnel to desist from indiscriminate use of the social media platform such as whatsapp, facebook, among others for negative posting and discrediting of the service and activities of government at large thereby causing catastrophy among members.
Therefore, anyone caught using such platform to discredit the system and its leaders will face the wrath of the law, ”we should abide by the ethics of the profession we belong to”, said Gana.
