Delta Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has urged the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, in the state to sharpen its intelligence gathering machinery to combat crime effectively. He made the call in Asaba, the Delta State capital, at an NSCDC meeting with security stakeholders tagged: "Critical Infrastructure Protection: A New Security Dimension."
The governor was represented by the Chief of Staff, Government House, Dr. Festus Okubor. Uduaghan said that a high degree of intelligence gathering would enable the organisation to be ahead of criminal elements in the society. He added that it was safer and more cost-effective if security agencies operated ahead of criminals.
"Criminals live and operate among members of the society and they can, with good intelligence network, be stopped before they embark on their nefarious activities," he said.
The governor, however, commended NSCDC in the state for collaborating with the state government to fight crime. He noted that the efforts of the command helped to reduce kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, armed robbery and other criminal activities.
The governor added that NSCDC had contributed immensely to the peace and security prevailing in the state. Earlier, the Commandant of NSCDC in the state, Mrs Obiageli Obiajulu, said that provision of security was a collective responsibility of everyone in the society.
He called on the members of the public to assist the organisation through volunteering information to enable it to track down offenders. Obiajulu noted that there was nothing the security provider could do without the active support of the public. She advised the public to stop undue interference in the duties of the command and desist from collaborating with some security officers to perpetrate corruption.
In a lecture entitled: "The Challenges in Protecting National Infrastructure by NSCDC in Nigeria", Dr. Emmanus Odikaesieme, remarked that although the organisation had good mandate, it lacked facilities for discharging its responsibility.
Odikaesieme said that if necessary facilities were available to NSCDC, it could perform better than the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He urged the government to provide modern security equipment and funds for NSCDC to enable the organisation to perform effectively.
He also stressed the need for the organisation to have good network with other security agencies in the country to complement its function.
National Mirror
Crime is something that is well on the increase in the country right now so steps must be taken to curb it.