|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps said it shut no fewer than 66 private guard companies operating illegally without licence or expired licence in the country.
The illegal firms, it said, were shut in 2023, adding that it also received 125 applications from prospective private guard companies in 2023.
The spokesperson for the NSCDC, Babawale Afolabi, disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday.
The NSCDC has continued to decry the proliferation of unregistered and unlicensed PGCs.
Babawale noted that the monitoring and enforcement exercise on PGCs across the country would be sustained with the help of the Association of Licensed Private Security Practitioners of Nigeria to fish out illegal operators.
He said, “The corps received 125 applications from private guards companies in 2023.
“We also sanctioned 66 PGCs for various infractions. The corps is in a joint task force with the ALPSPN to monitor and fish out quacks in the industry.”
The National President of ALPSPN, Chris Adigwu, confirmed to our correspondent that unlicensed security companies constituted a serious.
“Also, as an association, we have been sensitising clients to verify from the ALPSPN the status of the companies whose services they intend to engage. ALPSPN has offices across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.”
June last year, the NSCDC said it issued operational licenses to 41 new private guard companies.
A statement by its spokesman quoted the Commandant General, NSCDC, Ahmed Audi, as tasking the PGCs to operate within a national framework in contributing to the peace and security of the nation.
“Use your experience to promote public interest and socioeconomic growth, which only thrive in a crime-free environment.
“As you join the league of players in this industry, you should not compromise standards. The provisions of the PGC Act and regulation must be strictly adhered to.”
He warned that “national security must not be sacrificed on the altar of pursuit for business profit,” adding that “companies who violate the ethical codes of operation would be sanctioned and penalised accordingly.”
