The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday passed out 46 newly-recruited officers after six months intensive training.
At the Passing Out Parade, which coincided with the 2024 World Civil Defence Organisation Day (WCDD), the Commandant of the Edo Command of NSCDC, Mr Gbenga Agun, charged the 2023 intakes to be diligent in the discharge of their duties.
On the WCDD, Agun applauded civil defenders in the state for being at the frontfont during disasters in 2023.
He identified flooding, which displaced several communities in the state, Ologbo tanker fire incident and Lassa fever outbreak as some of the emergencies where the officers distinguished themselves.
“These momentous events in terms of the number of deaths and material damage did not dampen the morale of the teams of civil defenders deployed to the various scenes of these incidents.
“The active solidarity of players from all tiers of the security apparatus as well as the sincere involvement of both international and national institutions were set in motion to save lives, alleviate suffering and restore living conditions.
“The issues of climate change are no longer strange to the people of Edo State.
“The ever increasing temperature being experienced has elevated the possibility and risks of danger to lives and property,” he said.
The NSCDC boss said that the International Civil Defence Organization had recommended, as part of the celebration of 2024 WCDD, reflection on innovative technologies.
He said that tools such as drones, intelligence sensors, geographic information system and other artificial intelligence were good for the NSCDC to predict, prevent, prepare, respond and rebuild.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Edo Command of the NSCDC to reducing the risk of disasters and their impact throughout the state.
“We aim to achieve these, in part, through training and retraining of our personnel.
In his goodwill message, the state Gov. Godwin Obaseki, said that the state government would partner with the NSCDC in capacity building for members of vigilance groups.
The governor was represented by the state Commissioner of Public Security and Safety, Mr Kingsley Uwagbale.
The governor said that he was impressed with the conduct of the new intakes during their passing out exercise.
“For our vigilantes and state-owned security agencies, we have seen more areas of collaborations in terms of training and capacity building based on what we have seen here today,” he said.
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Obaseki also pledged to strengthen the empowerment programme of the command.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the occassion featured exhibition of products by members of the Civil Defence Officers’ Wives Association as well as presentation of awards to new officers who distinguished themselves during the training. (NAN)
