In order to bolster national security, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, or NSCDC, said that it has granted operational licenses to ninety-three private guard companies, or PGCs, in 2023.
This was said by NSCDC Commandant General Ahmed Audi in a conversation with reporters on Wednesday in Abuja at the corps’ headquarters.
Of the 1,412 PGCs that the corps had registered nationwide, 92 were sealed as a result of several operational infractions, according to Audi; however, 24 of the defaulting PGCs were later unsealed in the year that was being reviewed.
“We unsealed 24 after they complied with the requirements outlined by law and corrected the reasons for which they were approved,” he stated following the sealing.
He continued by saying that one of the main responsibilities for which NSCDC has been able to establish a reputation in this area is licensing, overseeing, training, and monitoring PGC operations.
He claims that because PGCs are widely dispersed around the nation, they have been able to meet expectations in bolstering security efforts; as a result, security personnel have power over them to obtain ground-level intelligence.
“They have been very helpful, and we have been receiving useful security information from them, which has helped us better secure the country,” he said. “We have tremendously recorded some progress.”