THE NEED FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT/NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO COMPLETELY SCRAP THE NIGERIAN SECURITY CIVIL DEFENCE CORPS (NSCDC) OR MERGE IT WITH THE NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE (NPF)

By Zik Gbemre

Without a doubt, one conspicuous draw back in effective and efficient service delivery in public institutions in Nigeria is duplication or overlapping of functions of some ministries, departments and agencies. In fact, the problems caused by the duplication of functions, especially for vital government Security agencies like the Nigerian Police Force, is one that seriously calls for concern. It is really sad, and rather unfortunate that today, we are witnessing the broad day light of statutory functions of the Police being overtaken by other security agencies of the government, specifically, the Nigerian Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), that one begins to wonder or find it hard to clearly distinguish the duties of the Police in dealing with the Nigerian public.

For instance, we find it appalling and rather unfortunate that the Officers and men of the NSCDC have made themselves available to be used by every dick and harry to carry out nefarious activities against defenseless Nigerian citizenry, especially in cities like Warri and environs in Delta State and other places across the country. On countless occasions, we have observed and witnessed the Officers and men of the NSCDC being used by those in political circles and the high and mighty in the society to intimidate, harass, and embarrass harmless innocent Nigerian citizenry. A very good example of this was the suspicious alleged forceful takeover/buy-over of the popular Wellington Hotel Ltd, Effurun near Warri, in Delta State, which has been changed to Bay Hotel & Resorts, Effurun, by alleged fronts of the immediate past Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, in which Officers of the Nigerian Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were used effect this fraud and th! ey have continued to occupy the premises of the said Wellington Hotel, Effurun, in complete disregard of a Court Order denouncing their stay at the hotel premises. In other words, the NSCDC has become pawns in the hands of top politicians and some society elites to use in actualizing their criminal-tendencies without raising any eye-brow.

Such evident practice seriously needs to be addressed by the Federal Government. Hence, we are strongly suggesting that the Federal Government and the National Assembly should amend the necessary Acts/laws to either completely scrap the NSCDC or have it merged under the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). The reason we are suggesting the NSCDC to be merged with the NPF is so as not to further complicate the already tensed unemployment situation in the country as a result of the Officers and men of the NSCDC that would lose their jobs. But it is imperative for the NSCDC to be under the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) as their functions are similar with that of the Police Force.

Constitutionally, the Nigerian Police Force is mandated to maintain law and order with a view to protecting lives and property, fostering civil peace and promoting a congenial atmosphere for political, economic and social development. In this wise, it should be seen as the first among equals as far as maintaining internal security is concerned. One example of rivalry and duplication of function of the Police like we noted above, is the Nigerian Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The upgrading of the once amorphous NSCDC into a full-scale (paramilitary) law enforcement agency, sometime back in 2007, has spurred hot debates and controversies in many quarters. Following the issuance of firearms to the Civil Defence Corps to enable its supposed Special Squad combat oil pipeline vandals, the controversies being stoked by the existence of the corps have gathered more resonance. This is especially with frequent violent and sometimes blo! ody clashes between the personnel of the NSCDC and those of the NPF, which are deeply rooted in role conflicts. Although the Presidency under former President Goodluck Jonathan was reported to have waded into the matter while they were in government, it is pertinent to note that behind such clashes is a growing rivalry, which, if not quickly resolved by the present government under President Muhammadu Buhari, would continue to generate bad blood between the two Security agencies.

Now excluding registration and supervision of civil guard companies in Nigeria, other functions of the Civil Defence Corps, as provided in the NSCDC Act of 2007 upgrading the status of the corps, clash with those of the Police. Notable in this regard are crime fighting, crime investigation, prosecution of criminal offenders, crowd control in public events, traffic control, protection of public facilities (including government buildings, oil pipelines and electric cables), quelling civil disturbances (including riots and communal violence), maintaining internal security in general, peace-making and others. Probably, some federal lawmakers did not envisage the current role conflicts between the NSCDC and well-established law enforcement agencies like the NPF when they took a hasty decision to elevate the status of the Civil Defence Corps from ordinary voluntary paramilitary organization to a full-fledged security body. The frequent confrontations ! between the corps and the police in different parts of the country every now and then have heightened anxieties that the situation could spiral out of control with the issuance of the former with guns. Regarding the arming of the personnel of the NSCDC, this has generated a groundswell of controversy and unease in many quarters for several cogent reasons.

Topmost on the list is that it is a complete waste of public funds. The truth is that, we already have too many ‘uniform Officers and men’ in the country and the ‘financial burden’ this bares on the Federal and State Governments is very much avoidable.

Policy analyst and legal practitioner Liborous Oshoma, argued once that: “if government had channeled all the monies budgeted for the agencies into the Nigerian Police, one can imagine how efficient they would perform in those various departments. Note must be taken of the determination by the Police never to abdicate its responsibility to any other agency. In serious countries we do not have multiple agencies performing duplicate functions; we have a centralized police force with different departments to handle different elements of policing, inspection and maintenance of law and order. Indeed, it is a fundamental breach of acceptable practice of good public sector governance to create a new agency or institution as a response to the seeming failure or poor performance of an existing agency in order to suit political or individual interests. Such a practice has proved eventually to precipitate systemic conflicts, crises and even collapse ! at a substantial but avoidably high financial cost to government.”

Barrister Ezeobi Chinedu, a Public Affairs Analyst also corroborated Oshoma’s claim, According to him, it is absolute balderdash duplicating the functions of Police by other similar agencies thereby depriving Police of their functions as enshrined in the constitution and Police Act. “Public Funds are being wasted on duplication of functions of the Police to other agencies. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) apprehends dealers and consumers of hard drugs, so does the Police. Personally, I do not think there is nothing the Nigerian Police cannot do even better than this Special agencies. I do not really know the plans of the Nigerian Government duplicating Police duties to other agencies, Are they systematically facing out the Police Force,” he questioned.

According to Mr. Collins Edo Osayi, a public affairs commentator, rather than creating more agencies that perform the functions of the Police, the problems facing the force should be tackled headlong for effective performance. He argued that the fact that an institution was inefficient and ineffective should not be a basis for the creation of new ones. He recalled that the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force have been reputed for performing exceptionally well and winning laurels while on international peacekeeping and other missions. This, he said, implied that the problems of the Nigeria Police were not incurable. Considering the increasing rivalry with the NPF, He said it was a reaction to symptoms rather than the diagnosis of the problem that had contributed significantly to the proliferation of parastatals and agencies. He urged government to focus on addressing and removing factors that militated against the effective performance of its agencies.”

Funny enough, experts in the security sector have noted that Nigeria, as it stands, is seriously ‘under-policed’. The United Nations minimum prescription is a ratio of one policeman to 400 persons. Nigeria has a population of about 180 million, which by the UN prescription should have at least 450, 000 policemen and women. What we have now is about 300, 000 which means that we are short by at least 150, 000 policemen. Last year, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the recruitment of 10,000 additional policemen, which they have started the recruitment process already. However, that is still a far cry from what we need. Even with the present low figure the Federal Government has not been able to take care of them. Some policemen come to work in torn uniforms. Some wear bathroom slippers to work; the rain drenches some, because they have no raincoats. Sometimes they are owed salaries for months. These and many more suggest that there is need for ! the Federal Government to kill two birds with one stone by directing that the NSCDC be made to be under the NPF, and adjusting the enabling laws to consolidate this action. By doing this, the Federal Government would have achieved two things: addressing the under-policed problem of the country as the number of Officers and men of the NSCDC that would join the NPF will significantly add to its total number. Secondly, the financial burden of maintaining the NSCDC will no longer be there but rather added to that used in maintaining the NPF. Thereby making the nation have a more efficient and effective Police Force.

However, it is not enough to ensure the NPF is made to have the adequate number of Officers in proportion to the Nigerian population as prescribed by the UN. What is far more important is for us to have a Nigerian Police Force that is well-funded and well-equipped with the appropriate communication and Information Technology (IT) gadgets to enable it effectively and efficiently investigate and fight all manners of crime. Having a million Police Officers will not be able to address the crime rate in the country if they are not well-funded and well-equipped with the right gadgets and kits to fight crime. Instead of using the funds currently used to maintain the NSCDC, which obviously has no relevance, the Federal Government should focus on funding the NPF to enable it carry out proper investigations of crimes without depending on Complainants or even suspects to help foot their investigative-bills. It is the duty of the Federal and State Governments to provide the NPF with ! the necessary Monitoring & Tracking gadgets for instance, for them to effectively fight crime. In the USA, UK and other parts of the developed world, Police Officers are well-equipped with the appropriate gadgets to track criminals and have arrested and subsequently prosecuted. The NPF should be made to do same, rather than waste more public funds in maintaining the Nigerian Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The crux of the matter is that there is obvious need for the Presidency, members of the National Assembly and relevant authorities concerned to come out and clearly clarify some of this duplication and overlapping of functions amongst Security agencies in relation to the NPF. This superiority of force amongst Security agencies is not healthy for the security-assurance in our polity; hence it has to be addressed. And the first place to start this adjustment is with the NSCDC, since it has become obvious that personnel of the NSCDC want to be in the Nigerian Police Force; going by their daily conducts, disposition and operations. Hence, we strongly advise that the NSCDC should be made to be under the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). And if this is not going to be possible or acceptable, the NSCDC should be scrapped completely.

Zik Gbemre, JP.

National Coordinator

Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)