…Deploys 850 personnel, opens situation room for real-time processing of intelligence

The Akwa Ibom State Commandant of NSCDC, Engr. Eluwade Eluyemi has assured Akwa Ibomites of the preparedness of NSCDC to maintain law and order and protect all critical national assets and infrastructure; as peaceful protesters will be afforded maximum protection to carry out their constitutional right to lawful assembly.

He gave the assurance after he held a meeting on Tuesday, 30th July, 2024 with Heads of Departments, Area Commanders, Divisional Officers and Field Commanders to reel out the Corps’ standard operating procedure for dealing with crowd, protest and protecting critical infrastructure.

Commandant Eluwade stated clearly the inalienable rights of citizens to lawful assembly and protest, as long as it is peaceful. He however pointed out that experience from the past has shown that hoodlums are wont to infiltrate protests and cease the slightest opportunity to cause unrest under which guise they perpetrate dastardly criminal acts; a trajectory which the corps is prepared to deal with in synergy with other security agencies.

The NSCDC boss pointed out that the Command has all through the pre-protest stage engaged in analysis of all the variables in the data made available concerning the protest, potential protesting groups, their leaders, routes, youth groups, student bodies and other possibilities.

Commandant Eluwade announced the deployment of 850 personnel to protect critical infrastructure and beef up security in places of interest all through the protest. Furthermore, he equally set up a situation room to receive Intelligence from the field across the 31 LGAs in the state, process the Intel and mobilize the closest tactical unit to respond in synergy with other agencies.

More so, the NSCDC helmsman earlier met with Directors of Private Guards Companies (PGC) who offer security protection to important business ventures and briefed them on the Corps’ preparedness, while urging them to hold their fort and feed the situation room with credible Intelligence.

He strongly warned personnel of the corps to be professional, courteous and diplomatic in dealing with the protesters, whom he said are Nigerian citizens exercising their constitutional rights and adhere strictly to the rules of engagement

While assuring peaceful protesters of maximum protection, he called on citizens to go about their lawful activities as security agencies will ensure that perpetrators of evil do not have their way.