Ahmed Audi, commandant-general, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), says operatives of the security outfit have arrested 50 armed herders.
The armed herders, he said, were arrested in different parts of the country, including Ekiti, Borno and Cross River states.
NAN reports that Audi spoke on Wednesday in Abuja while presenting licences to private guard operators.
He said: “We arrested 50 illegally armed herdsmen and realised that some of them are into cattle rustling and kidnapping.
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“The armed herdsmen were arrested in Ekiti, Borno and Cross River states and in some other parts of the country.”
Audi said the arrest of the illegally armed herders, shortly after his assumption of office, was an indication of his determination to reposition the corps for optimal delivery on its core mandate.
“It is part of our mandate to settle disputes between herdsmen and farmers and to also give some security protection to our agro-allied investments,” he said.
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Audi spoke on the need for synergy between security agencies, noting that the nation’s security challenges could only be addressed substantially through intelligence sharing.
He charged the private guard operators to ensure valuable contributions to ongoing efforts at checking rising insecurity.
“The nation is bedevilled with a very serious insecurity crisis, and that is the asymmetric warfare,” he said.
“If you want to deal decisively with this, you must synergise with all stakeholders in terms of credible intelligence.”
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He warned that the licences of private guard operators would be withdrawn if they engage in unethical practices.
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