Ahmed Abubakar Audi, Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has pledged the Corps’ commitment to protecting women’s rights and assisting in the eradication of political violence against women.
He stated this during a courtesy call to UN Women Country Representative Ms. Beatrice Eyong at the UN House in Abuja.
According to a statement issued by Corps spokesman DCP Olusola Odumsu, Audi emphasized that the importance women play in the development of society cannot be underestimated since they are dedicated, resourceful, and goal focused in whatever jobs are allocated to them.
He added that in order to promote women’s rights, he established the Gender section and launched the Gender Policy Document in order to mainstream women into the Corps’ policies and programs at all levels.
“We issued the gender policy document about this time last year to guarantee we have a guideline for the operation of the gender unit in all of our commands across the Federation.”
“The ceremony also marked the presentation of my award as a “He for She” by the Honorable Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Dame Pauline Tallen, in honor of our efforts to encourage women’s inclusion in our service from the start of my administration,” the CG continued.
He reassured the UN Women Country Representative on the safety of women in the country.
In his words, “President Muhammadu Buhari is deeply devoted to the safety of Nigerians and foreigners alike.”
“He has also directed all security services in the country to collaborate in order to end the country’s security difficulties as quickly as possible, and Nigerians will witness changes very soon.”
He highlighted that the Corps built a strong Female Squad that is highly trained to implement the government’s safe school plan in order to offer proper security for school children against kidnapping and prevent school gender based violence.
He requested UN Women’s assistance in the areas of training for the Corps’ Gender Desk Officers around the country, as well as technical assistance to aid in the prevention of school gender-based violence, among other things.
Ms. Beatrice Eyong, the Country Representative of UN Women in Nigeria, praised the CG for his involvement in the battle for women’s rights in her response.
She confirmed that the Corps is meeting its mandates and that the UN Women will be more than willing to collaborate with the Corps, particularly in areas of mutual interest and concern.
She went on to say that the Corps’ and UN Women’s cooperation needed to be deeper and stronger in order to help them achieve their economic empowerment agenda for rural women and the nation as a whole.
She hinted that the UN Women will soon start a Digitally Assisted Climate-Smart Agriculture program for rural women, with security being a primary consideration.
“When the initiative begins, we will broaden our relationship with the NSCDC to harness the skills of your Agro Rangers team to offer protection for rural women who are farmers as well as our officials,” she explained.
Ms. Beatrice Eyong requested the NSCDC’s assistance in preventing the trafficking of women and girls, claiming that over 18.5 million children are absent from school, with over 10 million of them being girls.
In light of the next general elections in 2023, the Country Representative emphasized that women are a vulnerable species whose rights to actively participate in politics have been consistently denied.
She asked for the Corps’ full cooperation in putting a stop to political violence against women.
The CG, on the other hand, vowed to put in place the appropriate machinery through the gender section at the National Headquarters, led by CSC Oluwakemi Ajet Alao, to help eradicate violence against women in politics, particularly as election season approaches.
He told the UN Women body that the Corps will provide the required cooperation and security support whenever called upon.
“You can rely on us; contact Civil Defence at any time for your programs; our responsibility is to ensure public safety and the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure.”
“We have justified our existence over the years, and we will continue to work tirelessly until the country is completely secure,” the CG said.
