The Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Rivers State Command, Dennis Reuben, says stronger collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) will improve public understanding of the Corps’ security, peace and conflict-resolution roles.
Mr Reuben said Public Relations has been identified as a veritable tool for fostering goodwill and strengthening mutual relationships between security agencies and the public they serve.
He remarked when the executive council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Rivers State Chapter, paid him a courtesy visit in Port Harcourt City.
READ ALSO: Nigeria pledges Support for Global Public Relations Forum
He explained that the NSCDC has legal powers to arrest, detain, investigate and prosecute persons suspected of committing criminal offences as well as mediate in civil disputes.
According to him, “The Civil Defence can mediate any civil matter, and we have a unit for that, the Peace and Conflict Resolution Unit.”
The Commandant noted that people were unaware of the Corps’ peace and conflict resolution mandate, stressing the need for greater public awareness to encourage the utilisation of the service in resolving civil disputes.
Earlier, the Vice Chairman of NIPR Rivers State Chapter, Dr Parry Benson, who represented the Chairman, said that the visit was aimed at establishing collaboration and capacity building for officers and men of the Corps, especially those in Public Relations.
Benson urged the NSCDC to allow its Public Relations officers to identify with and regularise their membership with the institute to access requisite professional training.
He also invited the Commandant to the World Public Relations Conference in Abuja in November 2026 and the Rivers Public Relations Week scheduled for October 7–9, 2026.
