Your Weapon Must Be Sophisticated” – Oshiomhole Tells NSCDC

Senator Adams Oshiomhole, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, has called for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to be equipped with highly sophisticated weapons to effectively combat increasingly armed criminal elements across the country.

According to reports, the former Edo State governor made the remarks on Friday in Abuja during the public presentation of the book “Nigeria’s Security Dilemma: Rivalries and Implications Vol. 1,” authored by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commandant of the NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu.

Oshiomhole urged lawmakers to review the NSCDC Establishment Act, arguing that the agency’s current operational realities require a reassessment of its capabilities. He maintained that security operatives should possess weapons that are at least as advanced as those carried by the criminals they confront.

He noted that while the agency is designated as a “civil” defence corps, its personnel are routinely deployed to tackle heavily armed criminals involved in vandalism of public infrastructure, illegal mining, oil bunkering, and other serious offences. According to him, it is unfair to expect officers to confront hardened criminals without adequate firepower.

The senator also advocated stronger cooperation among Nigeria’s security agencies, stressing that intelligence sharing and joint operations are essential to addressing the country’s growing security challenges. He warned that rivalry, distrust, competition for superiority, and weaknesses within the judicial system have continued to undermine efforts to combat insecurity.

Oshiomhole further emphasized that national security should remain above political and institutional interests, insisting that protecting lives and property requires collective responsibility and collaboration regardless of party affiliation.

Speaking at the event, FCT NSCDC Commandant Olusola Odumosu echoed the call for greater inter-agency cooperation, stating that no single security organisation possesses all the solutions to Nigeria’s security problems. He described rivalry among security agencies as a major obstacle to an effective national security strategy and urged stakeholders to embrace a united front, adding that no agency has a monopoly of knowledge or expertise in safeguarding the nation.