Akpan Umoh
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Akwa Ibom State Command has deployed its personnel to secure critical government infrastructure in Akwa Ibom to forestall hoodlums who have hijacked #EndSARS protests from either looting or destroying them.
The State Commandant of the corps, Mr Samuel Fadeyi, who said this in an interview with journalists in Uyo on Tuesday, added that the command has urged youths to see government utilities as their own, hence the need to secure them.
He stated that the NSCDC personnel have been deployed to all Telecom facilities, power, oil and gas, national asset and monuments, WAEC, JAMB, ExxonMobil offices and warehouses across the state.
“One of our main mandates is to secure national asset and infrastructure in the Federal, States and Local Governments.
“Especially, when a peaceful protest has gone violent and now some hoodlums started stealing and attacking some infrastructure.
“The Commandant General, Alhaji Mohammed Gana, had given us marching orders concerning critical asset in the country and we must make sure we secure, and nothing happened to them.
“For us in Akwa Ibom State before all this thing happens, we had deployed our personnel to some critical asset.
“So, what I have done is to engage members of the public. Particularly, the youth’s leaders, because I realised that each community has their youth leader, people who influence others.
“All we want from them is information, we will analyse the information on our own part. So, we can deploy personnel to such infrastructure to forestall any attack,” Fadeyi said.
He explained that the command has stepped up intelligence gathering as the deployment and protection of all critical national asset would be permanent as the yuletide season approaches.
He warned people in the state against instigating youths to foment trouble and attack government facilities.
The state commandant appealed to the youths to eschew violence, embrace peace, and stop looting government and private property.
He warned that combined security operatives were in place to patrol the state, protect government warehouses against vandalism and looting.