allAfrica.com * Civil Defence to Bear Guns By March Daily Trust (Abuja) NEWS 30 December 2007 Posted to the web 2 January 2008 By Musa Simon Reef Abuja Despite public outcry against the decision of the federal government to arm members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), some members of the corps would be fully armed before the second quarter of next year, NSCDC's Commandant-General Ade Abolurin has said. "I think before the expiration of the first quarter of next year, everything should have fallen into place," Abolurin told Sunday Trust yesterday in response to enquiries on the date for the arming of the corps. Abolurin's assurances on the arming of members of the NSCDC is coming after a series of meetings between the Minister of Interior, Major-General Godwin Abbe and management of the Defense Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) in Kaduna, over the purchase of arms and ammunition for members of the corps. In a telephone interview, the NSCDC boss confirmed that the process for the acquisition of arms and ammunition for the corps have already commenced and the relevant authorities are pursuing the necessary measures to procure the arms for final delivery to the corps before the second quarter of next year. The procurement of arms for the corps is coming on the heels of protest by some Nigerians insisting that the arming of the NSCDC members may not serve the interest of the country. But Abolurin said yesterday that those protesting the arming of the corps were not fair when viewed against the level of criminal activities in some parts of the country. "Let me tell you that the arming of the corps is for specific members of the corps whose professional integrity is above board. When we talk of arming the NSCDC, we are not saying that every member of the corps would be armed. "We are targeting corps members that are working in violence-prone areas and other corps members involved in activities that have to do with safety of lives and property," Abolurin said. He said the corps was taking its time to follow all the necessary procedure in ascertaining the professional competence of its members before arming some of them involved in maintaining security in key areas. "Before we arm a corps member, we will ascertain his level of competence in the handling of arms and ammunition. Not all members of the corps would be armed. Arms drill and training in the use and management of arms would be carried out before such arming is carried out," Abolurin explained. Pressed on the precise date for the arming of its corps members, the commandant-general noted that arming the corps could be concluded by the end of first quarter of next year. "For now, I cannot be precise on the date. But all I can say for now is that with God nothing is impossible. I think before the expiration of first quarter of next year, everything should have fallen into place," Abolurin revealed. He assuaged frayed nerves on allegations that all members of the corps would be made to carry arms. "Please tell Nigerians that this is not so. All those writing all sorts of articles are not been fair to the corps and Nigerians in general. Our essence is to ensure the safety of Nigerians and their property. "We shall not arm any of our members just for the sake of arming. We shall train our members in the best form to meet the exigencies of the times. None of our members will deploy the use of arms to terrorise or militarise the Nigerian people," the NSCDC boss told Sunday Trust. The Minister of State for Interior Haruna Hassan has been quoted as saying that discussions were on to arm the NSCDC. The minister had said that the move to arm the NSCDC became necessary due to the dangers to which members of the corps were exposed to in the course of their assignment, as they confront criminals, including petroleum pipeline vandals and other militant groups engaged in acts of violence and economic sabotage to the country's economy. Hassan had said that a law empowering the NSCDC to bear arms was passed by the National Assembly. He revealed that some 20 corps members from the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, are billed to undergo special training by the Nigerian Army on the use of arms. The NSCDC which was originally established as a voluntary organisation was to later transform into paramilitary agency through Act of the National Assembly enacted in 2003. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2007 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------