•Partners CIVIC, calls for civilians collaboration

As part of an effort to promote civilian security and harm mitigation, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) has revealed its plan to heighten security measures by building the capacity of Corp members.

This was disclosed by the Deputy Commandant-General and Head, Directorate of Critical Infrastructure and National Assets, NSCDC, Mr Nnamdi Nwinyi, who represented Commandant-General of the Corps, Mr. Ahmed Abubakar-Audi, at a one-day training session in Abuja on the “Protection of Civilians and Civilian Harm Mitigation,' organised by the Centre of Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC Nigeria).

Nwinyi noted that the high rising insecurity in the country calls for desperate measures for civilians' safety, hence civilians must collaborate with the Corps to ensure their safety

He said during the session held on Thursday that: “The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps have always been committed to ensuring the safety of Civilians. However, with the new security trends, we must increase our level of interaction with the Nigerian civil populace, especially interms of education and training.

“We are committed to continuous training and the Commandant-General assured us that measures such as this would continue to take place.”

Speaking, the Country Director, CIVIC Nigeria, Mr. Benson Olugbuo, stressed that the citizens should be involved in every decision that affects their security

He said: “There is a need for training and retraining of security agencies to ensure there is the reduction of civilian casualties during crises, especially during internal security operations. Agencies such as civilian protection committees need to be created where both the security agencies and the civilians in a crises area collaborate on the best security approach and measures to be taken.

“We believe that civilian harm is not unavoidable even when internal security has been planned, there is a need to check the collateral damage on the civilians. One of the principles of security is that security should be planned in such a way that civilians harm is avoided and reduced,” he added.

According to him, in cases where civilians are harmed the security agencies must ensure acknowledgement of such situations, accountability and compensation.

“There are laws which give a penalty to security agencies whose operations harm civilians, citizens should seek redress whenever security agencies trespass. By doing so, civilian harm would be mitigated,” he said.

•NSCDC Deputy Commandant-General, Dr. Nnamid Nwinyi, responding to questions from Journalists at the Civilian Protection and Civilian Harm Mitigation Training at the NSCDC Headquarters in Abuja