Cross River: 4 convictions,63 arrests by NSCDC in 2023—Commandant, Brown

By Hannah Nathan, Warri

In 2023, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) Cross River State Command detained 63 individuals on suspicion of engaging in illicit mining, stealing armoured cables, damaging public property, and stealing crude oil.

In an interview with reporters in Calabar on Thursday, Mr Charles Brown, the state’s NSCDC Commandant, revealed this and said that administrative bail was given to the majority of those detained.

According to Brown, four of the six people who had been detained were found guilty after they were brought before a judge.

“Investigation is still being carried out on 12 of the arrested suspects, eight are still in the custody of the NSCDC while others were either discharged or granted administrative bail,” he added.

He claimed that the command had retrieved 17.1mm armoured wire that had been vandalized by some of the suspects and that two articulated vehicles carrying crude oil and twenty gasoline barrels had been detained.

He stated that the command would remain unwavering in carrying out its duty and that the public’s support was strongly encouraged.

“We are sounding a note of warning to those who engage in the criminal act of vandalism and other form of crimes that, Cross River is no longer a haven for their nefarious activities, they must desist forthwith,” Brown added.