NSCDC Suspends Rivers Commander, Disbands Anti-vandals Unit

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Commandant General, Ahmed Audi, has suspended the head of the Anti-vandal team in Rivers State.

The NSCDC chief also disbanded the team following grievous accusations made by Governor Nyesom Wike during the arrest of illegal oil bunkers and refinery operators in the state.

Wike had alleged that the NSCDC unit and police were aiding and abetting vandals and illegal bunkers to carry out their nefarious activities in the state.

Reacting in a statement on Saturday, the NSCDC Commandant General expressed shock over the allegations as he ordered the suspension of the head of the anti-vandal team and the disbandment of the unit.

He stated that the suspension will remain in place pending the outcome of an independent inquiry set up to look into the weighty allegations levelled against the unit by Wike.

The NSCDC boss asked the Acting DCG in charge of investigation and intelligence to summon all the personnel involved to the national headquarters in Abuja for further investigation to determine the level of involvement and or culpability to dispense justice appropriately.

Audi said, “The swift action taken by me is to close any identified gaps in our operations and service to the nation, I will not tolerate any act of indiscipline, compromise or sabotage under any guise; our founding fathers have worked so hard to earn a good name for the service as a noble organization and I will not allow a few bad eggs to spoil our name, image, our credibility, and integrity. We will investigate those fingered in the allegations and deal decisively with them if found guilty to serve as a deterrent to others.

“Our moral principles are not negotiable; we are going to rejig the unit and fish out those spoiling the name of the corps, my fight against vandals, illegal oil bunkers and those stealing our collective wealth and sabotaging our economy is unflinching and we will redouble our efforts to whittle down this act of sabotage and bring to justice anyone, not in tune with our vision and mission for the service.”