By: John Gabriel

KADUNA, North-West, Nigeria – When the Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), Dr. Ahmed Audi, was appointed on February 17, 2021, by President Muhammadu Buhari, to take over the mantle of leadership of the corps, after the successful retirement of his predecessor, Abdullahi  Gana Muhammadu, he vowed and indicated his readiness to rejig, revamp, rejuvenate, re-invigorate and reposition NSCDC.

Going by his promises, the Commandant General started repositioning some states command by redeploying senior officers with track record of good performance.

He first redeployed commandant, Dr Godwin U Miebi, to Kaduna State, but he retired from active service few months he assumed office, after he clocked the age of 60 years.

However, after several weeks of searching for capable, workaholic,  intellectual and foresight officer to succeed retired Commandant, Miebi, fortune and destiny smiled at Commandant Idris Yahaya Adah. He assumed office as NSCDC Kaduna Commandant on May 11, 2022.

Immediately Commandant Adah assumed office, he started to rejig, revamp, and repositioning of the NSCDC Kaduna Command for effective service delivery.

Although, Adah may not have all the best amour, weapons, or guns the world needed to fight insurgents, but the already inbuilt intellectual prowess, paramilitary strategies, anointing and wisdom in him, had already sent waves into the camp of the enemies, bandits, terrorists living in various Kaduna forest, that time to repent is now, else they face the consequences of their unlawful act.

Commandant Adah, first, embarked on familiarisation visits to all military, police, paramilitary formations in the state, with a view to synergizing with them, to tackle, eliminate banditry, terrorists and other forms of criminals terrorizing the state.

During one of his familiarisation visits to Kaduna Government House, he told Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, that the corps was synergizing with other sister security agencies in the state to tackle insecurity, since two heads are better than one.

Few weeks after he assumed office, Commandant Adah had embarked on familiarisation tour of all the 23 Local Government Areas, (LGAs) of Kaduna State, observed with intellectual mind and strategy, areas, communities, villages worst hit by insurgents, but need urgent security presence or attention.

Following this after, Commandant Adah beefed up 24 hours security patrol across the 23 LGAs of the state, devised another strategies of redeployed armed officers and men of the Command to various strategic and flash point to checkmate the activities of criminals.

Interestingly, this began to yield positive results when few weeks ago, the command arrested five suspected criminals, vandals and cable thieves. They were being paraded at the NSCDC state Headquarters Kaduna, just as plans have been concluded to charged them to court as soon as investigations are completed.

Furthermore, as part of his plans and prayers to wipe out various criminals in the state by synergizing and collaboration with other sister security agencies in the state, he further sent the 2019 recruits to further training on gun or arm handling, positioning and firing when the need arise.

However, inorder to bring its service of protecting lives and property, including the Federal Government critical assets across the state closer to the people, especially, the rural dwellers, the Commandant on Monday, October 30, 2022, approved the establishment of additional three Area Commands, six Divisional offices, several outposts across the 23 LGAs of Kaduna State.

The Commandant who was seriously after the safety of lives and property of Kaduna residents, including the Federal Government critical assets and infrastructure, had ordered immediate posting of officers and men of the corps to all the new created commands, divisions and outposts.

Commandant Adah is instrumental to quick release of funds for the payment of retired cooperative members’ benefits. Under his watch, two senior officers of the Corp; ACC Dodo Ayila (Rtd), and ACG Bunu(Rtd), and several others, were  paid their contributory benefits, few weeks after their retirement.

This uncommon gesture has no precedent anywhere, as he advised even those who are yet to join the cooperative, to retrace their steps by joining the cooperative, and plan for their retirement.

Adah’s six months as NSCDC Kaduna Commandant, has been a blessing, not only to NSCDC  officers and men in Kaduna command, but entire residents of the state.

Sir, as you continue to display your wealth of experiences in all ramifications, it’s hoped that within a short period of time, the issue of insecurity bedeviling the peaceful co-existence in Kaduna state will be a thing of the past.

John Ewawoche Gabriel, a Journalist, writes from Kaduna