NSCDC has hit a milestone in the fight against militancy and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region with the crackdown on several miscreants.
The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested 50 suspected militants in Rivers State and destroyed 15 illegal refineries in different locations in Niger Delta, according to The Nation.
NSCDC’s Commandant General (CG) Abdullahi Muhammadu said the suspects were arrested last Wednesday night during a special operation by the corps operatives in the state.
Muhammadu told reporters in Abuja that the suspects were being screened and profiled as part of investigations to know their level of culpability in pipeline bombings and vandalism in the region.
The NSCDC chief said those indicted during investigators would be prosecuted for economic sabotage.
He said: “As at yesterday (Wednesday), 15 illegal refineries were destroyed and 50 militants were arrested. But we need to screen them to know those who would be charged to court because they are many: fifty of them, just in a night.”
Muhammadu said the mandate of the corps had been extended beyond pipeline and critical infrastructure protection to include security for dams, agro-allied businesses, farms and ranches across the country.
He said 2,000 NSCDC operatives were participating in counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast, adding that 2,700 others were undergoing training for deployment in the region.