NSCDC Sanctions 79 Officers Arrests Pipeline Vandals And Arms Dealers

(NSCDC. Photo by Punch News)

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has imposed sanctions against 79 personnel across various categories of misconduct.

The corps has additionally arrested six suspected pipeline vandals and six individuals implicated in illegal firearms trafficking operations.

The Commandant-General disclosed these enforcement actions during a media briefing at the corps’ national headquarters on Wednesday.

Disciplinary proceedings involving 75 personnel have been concluded, whilst four others remain undergoing administrative review processes over separate allegations.

The sanctioned personnel encompassed one Assistant Commandant-General, two Deputy Commandants, 35 senior officers, and 37 junior personnel.

Alleged offences included job racketeering, unlawful recruitment, financial impropriety, sabotage, theft, negligence, dishonesty, and unauthorised absence from duty, alongside violations of service regulations.

Penalties ranged from summary dismissal and forced retirement to dismissal coupled with criminal prosecution recommendations where culpability was established.

Thirty-seven personnel received dismissal following disciplinary conclusion.

The dismissed cohort included two Mining Marshals operatives recommended for prosecution following a February operational incident resulting in the death of their commander in Nasarawa State.

Investigations determined no evidence of premeditated design but established that the operatives engaged illegal miners possessing firearms without authorised operational protocols, constituting grave misconduct, negligence, and disciplinary violation.

The Mining Marshals Commander and management team members were exonerated of alleged complicity following investigation, with assertions to the contrary determined to lack factual foundation.

Four personnel currently undergoing disciplinary review were examined, including three transferred from the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police over alleged unlawful arms and ammunition transactions and one facing proceedings over alleged negligence and misconduct in treatment of a teenage domestic worker.

The Commandant-General directed expedited conclusion of disciplinary matters and prosecution of criminal cases according to legal frameworks, whilst reaffirming constitutional rights including presumption of innocence pending formal adjudication.

He cautioned against extrapolating misconduct of affected personnel to the broader service membership, emphasising that the overwhelming majority of officers maintain professional standards and integrity in national service.

The corps reaffirmed commitment to upholding professionalism and ethical conduct, with accountability applied uniformly irrespective of rank.

In separate operations, four suspects were apprehended in the Federal Capital Territory whilst transporting suspected railway materials.

The suspects face prosecution for criminal conspiracy, malicious destruction of public property, acts of t3rrorism, and unlawful possession of suspected stolen property.

A truck carrying vandalised railway sleepers and related materials was recovered. In an additional operation, two suspected power infrastructure vandals were detained in the FCT following alleged conspiracy to damage electrical cables and transmission lines.

Recovery efforts for stolen electrical installations remain ongoing.

Six civilian suspects were arrested following intelligence operations regarding illegal firearms transactions.

The principal suspect was intercepted with military-grade weaponry, ammunition, tactical apparatus, and suspected explosive device materials.

Follow-up operations across two states resulted in apprehension of five additional syndicate-linked individuals.

Recovered items encompassed firearms, ammunition, communication and tactical equipment, identity documentation, and associated materials.

All suspects remain in custody pending multi-agency investigation and legal adjudication processes.