The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Thursday issued a renew licenses or get sealed directives to all Private Guard Companies (PGCs) operating in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
The warning however only applied to security companies with expired licenses.
The Commandant of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of the NSCDC, Dr. Olusola Odumosu who issued the order, said currently only 460 PGCs has operational licenses since August 2023 till date.
He also revealed that three companies were sealed for operating illegally.
He called on PGCs to ensure their operatives desist from using uniforms or acourtrement belonging to other military or paramilitary agencies.
He said “those due for license renewal should go and renew their licenses, those using uniforms or acourtrement of military or paramilitary agencies should desist from such immediately to avoid all forms of misrepresentation.”
According to the Commandant, the 460 licensed PGCs have a record of 42,645 registered private security operatives.
Odumosu said that since his assumption of office on Aug.15,2023, the Command has conducted training and re-training for guards of 20 PGCs. And plans are on to train many more before the end of the year.
He however, urged PGCs owners to inculcate the habit of continuous training and re-training of their operatives as security trends evolve regularly. He told them that as the command trains them, they should step down the training to others.
He said: “There are emerging security tips and technological advancement that will be beneficial to these private security outlets.
“Same way they can learn from us, it will also be an avenue to ensure there are no security gaps between the Corps and the companies which it regulate.
“One of the responsibilities of the NSCDC is to regulate, license and monitor the operations of private security companies as they form a part of the security architecture of the country,” he said.
The NSCDC FCT boss, said that plans are underway to inspect PGCs in the territory to ensure compliance and will not hesitate to seal, sanction or penalise anyone found guilty.