Nigeria Civil Defence deploys 15,000 personnel for Ekiti election

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, said it has approved the deployment of 15,000 personnel to Ekiti to ensure peaceful conduct of the governorship election scheduled for June 21. The notice of the deployment is contained in a statement issued by the Corps spokesperson, Okeh Emmanuel, in Abuja on Wednesday. Mr. Emmanuel said the Commandant-General of the Corps, Ade Abolurin, had also directed zonal and state commands to deploy adequate personnel to strategic places where criminal elements could hide. He said places like Churches, Mosques, federal highways, among others, would be guarded by officers of the Corps. He added that “in encouraging registered voters to come out and exercise their civic right, the Corps chief executive, apart from the deployment of over 15,000 regular and volunteer personnel, has also deployed some specialised units. “The units are; the Special Forces, Counter-Terrorism Unit, Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Radio-Active Squad. “Surveillance vehicles and sniffer dogs will also be deployed for the purpose of sniffing out combustive chemicals and other dangerous compound substances used in making bombs and IEDs.’’ The NSCDC official said the measures are to forestall previous ugly incidences and reiterated the commitment of the Corps to provide adequate security for law-abiding citizens. (NAN)