Gombe State: Civil Defence Recounts Achievements in 2023

 

The Gombe State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps says its successes recorded in 2023 indicate the confidence the residents of the state have in handling their cases.

 

The Gombe State Commandant of the NSCD, Mr. Mohammed Bello Mu’azu, told journalists while taking stock of activities in 2023, that the command in the year under review received 4, 156 cases, out of which 3, 011 of them have been concluded, while 1, 147 others were still ongoing in the courts.

 

Mr. Bello said some of them were reported, while others were transferred, an indication that the public in Gombe was having confidence in the command.

 

He attributed the successes to not only the use of the courts but also the application of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism, which led to the huge successes recorded, where Kaltungo alone accounted for 897 anti-fraud cases, out of which  604of the cases were concluded, while the remaining 293 were ongoing.

 

According to the Gombe State Commandant of the NSCDC, despite not being a recovery organisation, through the use of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism and the collaboration of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the command had recovered 29 million, 800 and 35 thousand, 302 naira.

 

Overall, he said the State Command’s Anti-Fraud Unit retreated 515 cases, with 282 cases still ongoing, but was able to reconcile the parties and realized 68 million, 258 thousand.

 

“Please I want to make it straight; we are not a recovery organization, but because of the ADR System or policy that we are allowed to fix conflict and resolution, we have that department here that two parties can come together, agree and be reconciled. We do. Other than that, we do go to court out rightly, but where parties decide to reconcile themselves, we refer them to the Peace, Conflict, and Resolution Department. We have it here and this is where all this money was realized,” said Commandant Mu’azu.

 

He also attributed the successes recorded in the command to his involvement in knowing each case file, so that no fraudulent issues cropped up involving any of his officers and men on any case.

 

“I came up with a means that I must know every case, when it is opened and when it is closing. I must know. And anytime it is closing, I will make the complainant swear that he did not give a Kobo. I will make the suspect swear that he did not give anybody any Kobo before I sign on that paper,” said Commandant Mu’azu.

 

He said the measure was aimed at ensuring that the Civil Defence Corps contribute its quota in making the public have confidence in its ability to serve them and solve their issues.

 

Another success attributed to the contributions of the NSCD is the use of its Agro-Rangers in the area of ensuring peaceful harvest in the state because the State Government had Co-opted the corps to be part of the security team, the Gombe State Commandant said the harvest was conducted peacefully in the year under review, unlike previous years before that.

 

He said the Agro-Rangers ensured that the confidence of both farmers and herders was earned by protecting their interests and ensuring a conflict-free period.

The Gombe State Commandant of the NSCD said the command was not resting but was being engaged yet again by the State Government in protecting dry-season farming, to prevent clashes.

 

“I will ensure a Gombe State a hitch-free Dry Season Farming. We are going to do whatever is possible to see that no encroachment into any farmland. We were able to succeed because we were not just there. We strategized by reaching out to the herders themselves. We reached out to the farmers themselves. We reached out to the traditional rulers. Some of you might have seen it, we went out to churches. All to sensitize people, to educate people while we were out there and this yielded results for us. This brought a very good understanding,” said Mr. Mu’azu.

 

Dominica Nwabufo