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| NSCDC Commandant General- Dr. Ahmed Audi |
Why Nigerians can not be allowed o bear Arms:
The Commandant General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr. Ahmed Audi, has said Nigerians are not ripe to be allowed to bear arms.
Commandant Audi spoke when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum yesterday in Abuja.
He said: “I strongly disapproved of it. Even now that there is no law in existence, you still have proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the hands of people.
“It has to do with civilisation and education.
“Even in Europe and America where they have that law, where virtually everybody, once you can drive, can have arms, they are trying to control it now because of how some events unfold.
“In the world, especially in Europe and America, somebody will just wake up and just go to a school and open fire on kids. You know that is madness.
“And so for me, I don’t think we are there yet to allow citizens carry arms.”
Farmers and Herders clash
The NSCDC boss also shared light on government’s efforts to address farmers/herders clashes across the country.
He said that the corps, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, had trained over 3,000 Agro Rangers to provide security to farms and other agro allied investments.
Audi described the unit as a specialised department which also helps to reconcile farmers and herders.
“They are still there. Presently, we have even trained about 3,000 of them. As you can even see me sitting here, this is their uniform, the uniform of Agro Rangers.
“They are under a department called Peace and Conflict Resolution. Using Alternative Dispute Resolution, they have settled over 1,000 cases between farmers and herders nationwide.
“You can see them visibly in Borno, Yobe, Kaduna, Adamawa, Enugu states, and they are there doing their work,” he said.
The farmer/herder clash is one of the issues affecting farmers and cattle owners in Nigeria, which has forced many Nigerians out of farming and has contributed to the rising price of food commodities in Nigeria.