From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Human rights activist, Chief Haruna Osike has called on Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to beep its search light on the activities of the officers in charge of Adavi Division of the corps in Kogi state., saying their excesses has become unbearable to the community.
Osike who made the call in a petition letter he addressed to the Commandant General of NSCDC Ahmed Abubakar Audi copies which was made available to newsmen in Lokoja on Sunday, stated that the officers ineptitude to duty led to the recent burning of the only operational vehicle of the corps by yet to be identified arsonist.
The rights activist who is also the director of Azi Ajibade guest house at Ebogogo in Adavi LGA alleged that both divisional officer and the station officer do not stay in office more than two hours.
He added that on that fateful day that the operational vehicle was burnt , the supposed officer on duty was visibly drunk and abandoned his duty post which create an avenue for the arsonists to have all the oppourtunities to vandalized and set the vehicle ablaze.
“My supervisor on duty alerted me of the burning fire and I quickly went to the office and met the vehicle burning without any officer on duty. I sent to the house where the officers of the corps stayed to intimate them of the fire incident since non of them was on duty and to my surprise they were not at home either. There and then I called a journalist in Lokoja who also called the Area Commander of NSCDC in charge of Kogi central, but resident in Ageva, Okene LGA.
“The Area Commander within few minutes despite the distance came with some other officers who join hands with us to quenched the fire that is almost at the point of extending to the station office and at this point still non of the officers in charge of the office show up until after an hour.
“It apparent that the divisional officer, her second in command and even the station officer have been indulging in unwholesome activities that prompted the arsonists to burn the vehicle as there are series of complaints from the community of an alleged extortion and unlawful detention of suspects.
“About three years ago the officers of Adavi division of NSCDC locked up a suspect in the cell, they abandoned him there without any of them on duty and the following morning the suspect was found dead in the cell. Similar non chalant attitude play out recently at Ponyon ward in Yagba east LGA where a suspect allegedly died in NSCDC cell as reported in online media” the petition said.
He appealed to the Commandant General to prevail on the Kogi State Commandant of NSCDC Mr Suleman Ibrahim Mafara to redeploy all the officers in Adavi division of the corps , stressing that “virtually all of them have spent upward of seven to eight years in that division.