The Nigerian Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has said it will deploy drones in the Niger Delta creeks to militate against pipeline vandalism which has been pervasive in that region.
This was disclosed on Monday by the Commandant-General of the Corps, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, in Abuja during a pre-event news conference before a two-day workshop to train security officials and other stakeholders on the use of modern techniques and equipment in securing critical national assets and public infrastructure.
Muhammadu, who was represented by Assistant Commandant-General in-charge of National Assets and Critical Infrastructure, Jonathan Iyogho, and that of Training, Ibrahim Ningi, said the drones would grant the Corps access to areas that are otherwise not easily accessible, especially in the creeks.
“In the past, we used to think of deploying our men but take for instance, the oil and gas sector where you have thousands of pipelines. How many men would you even deploy in those areas? So, we are instead deploying technology.
“We have a Command and Control Centre which is the C5 where the activities of our men are viewed and also where there is a security breach regarding any infrastructure, we immediately alert the closest unit to take action.”
The Corps Commandant also disclosed that CCTVs have been installed to monitor power infrastructures in some other locations.
The workshop he said, is to facilitate tactical withdrawal from reactive tendencies in infrastructure policing.
“We have to be more proactive because the cost of vandalism is usually more than the initial cost of building those assets”.
He said they are trying as well to get the support of the communities, “because they are the first line of protection of such assets as they are located in their areas. They also know themselves and can easily spot strangers among them”.
