The Anti-Vandal Unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Command in Rivers State has been disbanded with immediate effect by the Commandant General NSCDC, Ahmed Abubakar Audi.
The unit disbandment comes after the state Governor, Nyesom Wike, alleged some days ago in a statement that the NSCDC team in the state support and aid illegal “bunkerers” to commit crime in the state.
The Commandant General has however, described the allegation as “shocking” while ordering a suspension of the unit head in order to conduct “thorough” investigations so as to get to the root of the matter.
A statement by the NSCDC spokesperson, Olusola Odumosu revealed that an independent enquiry panel has been set up to investigate the allegation by the Governor.
However, the Commandant General stressed that he will tolerate any act of indiscipline as well as not allow any individual compromise the good name the founding fathers of the force have worked for over the years.
“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”, he said.
He also assured the Governor that investigations will be conducted and bring to justice if found guilty.
“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 bunkerers, 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,” he emphasized.