Over 10,000 personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been trained on counter-terrorism in Israel, Pakistan, Italy and also in Nigeria, with the aim of tackling insurgency in the country.

NSCDC Commandant General, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, disclosed this today when the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee delegation led by Mr. Weixiong Chen, the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (UN-CTED) in New York, USA, paid him a courtesy visit at the Corps National Headquarters, Abuja.

Gana, however, stressed the need for more exposure for Civil Defence personnel, especially in the area of knowledge acquisition on how to use modern technology to improve the fight against nsurgents, vandals, illegal oil bunkerers, and oil thieves who have become more sophisticated and daring in their operations.

The CG enumerated the Corps mandate, stressing the need for more support and training in the area of protection of critical infrastructures and other national assets in Nigeria, as they are in most cases readily available targets for both terrorists and vandals. He disclosed that presently, over 400 personnel are protecting the facilities of multinational oil companies in Nigeria such as Shell, Agip, Mobil, among others.

Gana described NSCDC as a grassroots-oriented organisation with the mandate to defend the defenceless with regard to the fundamental human rights of the citizens as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The NSCDC helmsman expressed worry over the poor synergy and partnership amongst the various security agencies in the country, especially in the areas of intelligence gathering and information sharing. He posited that the only way to achieve the common goal of fighting terrorism is by strengthening and putting in place high-level collaboration among all stakeholders.

Responding, Mr Weixiong Chen said that he and his team are here in Nigeria not because Nigeria is a victim of terrorism due to the insurgency, but to assist in training and to profer solutions.

Chen noted that the fight against terrorism will not be complete without the role of the law enforcement agencies. He stressed the need for proper coordination and training among the various law enforcement agencies, explaining that they must have basic trainings on close protection, to enable security operatives protect themselves and the populace in general. He therefore assured the Corps of UN-CTED support in training the personnel and to also give logistics support.

The UN-CTED Deputy Executive Director stressed that Nigeria cannot fight terrorism in isolation, hence there must be the involvement of other nations, in the areas of financing, training and provision of equipment based on the needs of a particular nation.

Chen advocated for the Nigerian State, in tackling terrorism, to employ a holistic approach involving the three tiers of government pulling together their resources to wipe out the menace.

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