Update: NSCDC disowns personnel arrested in Kogi for aiding kidnappers, bandits, says ‘he is a deserter’

The Kogi State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps,NCSDC, has said a member of the agency, Inspector Abdullahi Saidu, who was arrested for allegedly aiding kidnappers and bandits, was away without official permission before the arrest.

LIB had reported that Saidu was arrested by the Kogi State Vigilante Group for allegedly supplying the criminals with weapons and information to undertake their heinous crimes.

Speaking on Monday, September 20, while parading some suspects, the Kogi NSCDC Commandant, Suleiman Mafars, said the suspect was declared a deserter after he abandoned his duty post for two weeks.

“Abdullahi Saidu fingered in kidnapping activities in the state has been declared away without official permission AWOL by the command two weeks before his suspected arrest by the vigilante group in Kogi” the commandant stated. 

According to him, service rules indicate that an official who unlawfully exempts himself from duty without cogent reasons has exited from service.

Mafars disclosed that the command tried in vain to connect with Seidu since September 8, 2021, adding that the authorities had commenced disciplinary actions against him before the news of his arrest by the vigilantes broke.

He noted that the agency would not condone any act of criminality from any member of the corps, adding that the command would ensure that he was brought to face the law.

“The NSCDC as a disciplined force will not condone any act of criminality from any member of the corps,” he added.