Insecurity: NSCDC commissions all-female squad to secure schools

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has commissioned an all-female squad to provide full-proof security for schools across the country.

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said at the passing out parade in Katsina, on Friday that it was part of a Safe School Initiative.

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Aregbesola, in a statement by Director, Public Relations of the NSCDC in Abuja, DCC Olusola Odumosu, commended the leadership of the Corps for taking the lead in establishing a Female Squad as part of strategies to address present security challenges confronting the nation.

He noted that the initiative will no doubt add value to the security architecture of the country, and at the same time enhance the operational capacity and efficiency of the Corps.

Women in nation-building

Speaking on the significance of women in the fight against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of insecurity, he reiterated that since women account for more than half of the nation’s population, it was apt to include them in all aspects of nation-building as studies have shown that women are more likely to attract the cooperation, confidence, and trust of the citizens than their male counterparts.

He maintained that the spike in security challenges in the country occasioned by the activities of Boko Haram insurgency, armed banditry, robbery, kidnappings, farmers/herders clashes among others necessitated the clamour for security agencies to redouble their efforts by strategizing to provide a safe and secure environment, where meaningful development can thrive.

Ogbeni Rauf assured the leadership of the corps of the President’s resolve to continue to enhance the capacity of the NSCDC to effectively deliver on its mandates through adequate funding and provision of modern security equipment.

Aregbesola urged the newly established Female Squad to exhibit a high level of discipline, focus, vigilance and mental alertness in discharging their responsibilities while calling on the citizens to provide operatives with actionable intelligence that will assist in finding a lasting solution to the problem of incessant kidnapping of school children for ransom.

School abductions

On his part, the Commandant General of the NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Audi, mni, maintained that the female squad was a child of necessity, borne out of the need to effectively curtail the recent upsurge of insecurity and to proactively engage bandits and kidnappers of school children as directed by the federal government on the implementation of the safe school initiative by the Corps.

Dr Audi said the frequency of attacks on schools by bandits, who indulge in the kidnapping of students for ransom, had made it imperative to focus attention on intensifying security within and around vulnerable school’s environments across the country.

“This is a proactive step aimed at ensuring the safety of school children and restoring the confidence of students, parents, teachers and the host communities,” he said.

According to Audi, the corps has concluded a vulnerability survey on all schools in the country to collate data with a view to identifying the gaps in the existing security arrangement for schools in Nigeria and to give the corps needed clues on necessary strategies to adopt in enhancing safety in the nation’s schools, especially those that are susceptible to attacks.