The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has dismissed reports that its personnel were involved in a theft incident at the Ebonyi International market on Aug. 8, 2020.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. David Umahi during a state function on August13, disclosed that the Close Circuit Camera (CCTV) installed at the market captured NSCDC personnel being involved in the theft incident.
The corps’ State Commandant, Lucy Samu, in an interview with NAN on Friday in Abakaliki, dismissed the report, insisting that it was a ‘misinformation’.
Samu, who said she was saddened by the report, noted that the CCTV footage clearly showed that the culprits were not the corps’ personnel but those of a private security firm contracted by the market authorities.
“The NSCDC personnel guard the ‘lot’ 1 of the market while the private security outfit guards the ‘lot’ 2 where the incident occurred.
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“We have made adequate representations to the state government on the matter and it has discovered through the CCTV footage, that it was not my personnel.
“I appeal that thorough investigations should be conducted before such reports are made as this is very important,” she said.
Assistant Superintendent of the Corps, Gideon Njoku, Leader of the NSCDC team at the market, told NAN that the corps personnel could never be involved in such act.
“I received information on the morning of Aug.8 that a certain vehicle entered the market the previous night around 11.30 pm which made me rush to the market.
“I interrogated the private security outfit’s personnel who confirmed that one of them on duty on the night of Aug.7, interacted with some unknown persons that night.
“The particular personnel according to them, opened the market’s gate to the unknown persons after interacting with them for about 30 minutes.
“Details of their discussions were not made known to me but they said that the personnel allowed the unknown persons to enter the market with their vehicles without knowing where they were actually going.
“The CCTV captured the footage and three personnel of the private security outfit were consequently arrested on Aug.8,” he said.
He said that he kept guard at the market with the corps’ personnel on Aug.8 and on Aug. 9, the Secretary to the State Government visited the market and interrogated him.
“I narrated the whole incident to him and it is clear that our personnel were not involved in the incident,” he said.
Efforts made by NAN to get the reaction of the SSG proved abortive as he did not pick the mobile phone calls or replied the text message sent to him.