Why Police and NSCDC are still fighting

Vice-President Namadi Sambo, yesterday gave reasons why the feud between the Nigerian Police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, lingers.

Sambo blamed the crisis between the two agencies on the failure of the nation’s constitution to state explicitly the roles of the NSCDC.

The vice-president made the remark at a meeting of the Interim Implementation Committee on the Reform of the Nigeria Police, which held in Abuja.

Responding to a question from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, on the overlap of functions between the Nigerian Police and other related agencies such as the NSCDC, Vice-President Sambo pointed said; “The NSCDC was legally established by an Act of the National Assembly with defined legal statutes but their functions are yet to be properly established.’

Sambo therefore directed that the committee assist in resolving the feud by looking into areas of conflict in roles between the agencies and the police with a view to defining them accordingly.

It will be recalled that the two security outfits recently tackled each other over alleged battle to rescue oil bunkerers in Lagos, last month, where the NSCDC lost two of its personnel and blamed the killing on the police.

Vice-President Sambo at the meeting directed the police to work out modalities that will facilitate the conclusion of additional works to enable the utilisation of the proposed Public Security Communication Network on the 450 MHz frequency.

He emphasised the need to utilise the frequency to foster progress in the fight against insecurity in the country. He noted that ‘the police should go ahead and use the frequency while the Inspector- General of Police continues to discuss with the company and the ICC to see how pending issues will be resolved.

Earlier, Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade, informed the vice-president that the Strategic Plan for the Reform Programme run for private sector participation had been prepared. “Based on a rundown given by Messrs Accenture, the plan is about to be opened up now to a larger body of stakeholders slated for the second quarter of 2013,” he said.

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