Fresh facts emerged yesterday as to why the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) redeployed its Lagos State Commandant, Mr. Shem Obafaye. Although NSCDC told journalists that Obafaye’s redeployment was part of the routine in the Corps, an impeccable source said in Abuja that the commandant was not redeployed because of the ill-fated interview he granted to Channels Television.
According to the source, Obafaye personally applied to be redeployed from Lagos State in the wake of the bad publicity generated as a result of the television interview.
The source said because of the overwhelming negative publicity generated by the interview, Obafaye applied to be allowed to swap positions with his Oyo State counterpart, Mr. Adesuyi Clement. He said: “Mr. Obafaye actually applied to be redeployed due to the bad publicity he got after that interview. So, he is going to be in charge in neighbouring Oyo State.
He merely swapped with his Oyo State counterpart, having obtained approval to do so from the appropriate quarters. “If you were the one in the circumstance, I guess you will want to opt out. Naturally, he is very media shy. Then the clash with the police also came up, focusing a lot of media attention on the command again.
He was not redeployed as a form of punishment.” NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Okeh, said that for reasons which could hinder one’s official operations, an officer of that cadre is free to make such an application.
Obafaye became an object of public ridicule after he could not recollect his organisation’s website during a breakfast show on Channels Television.
When the NSCDC Commandant- General, Dr Olu Abolurin, visited Lagos State at the weekend over the recent killings of two of his men, he introduced Mr. Adesuyi to journalists as Obafaye’s successor. Abolurin did not give reasons for Obafaye’s replacement, but many connected the action to his “embarrassing” outing on the TV guest show.
However, following Dr Abolurin’s visit to Lagos, the NSCDC said it had evolved new strategies aimed at curtailing the activities of oil pipeline vandals.
Dr. Abolurin, while appraising the efforts of the Corps in curtailing the activities of vandals, oil theft and other social vices, lauds other security agencies and stakeholders for collaborating with the Corps in fighting the elements that bent on frustrating the nation’s economy.
The commandantgeneral recalled that the NSCDC is mandated by Section 3 of the NSCDC Act No 2 of 2003 and Section 3 of the Corps Amendment Act No 6 of 2007 to maintain 24-hour surveillance over infrastructure, sites, and projects for the federal, state and local governments.
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