Nigeria Security and Civil Defence corps (NSCDC) is a paramilitary corp that form an integral part of civil defence in Nigeria^[1][2][3]. It was commissioned in 2003 by the Nigeria government as part of the country defence agency^[4][5][6].

History

The origin of the NSCDC can be traced back to the Great britain initiative in 1949, that led to the establishment of the Civil Defence Corps to mobilize and take absolute control of the affected regions by a nuclear attack during the World War II^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}. The agency is believed to have emerged as a result of the Nigeria Civil War (6, july 1967-15 january 1970)^[13]. During the Nigeria civil war, group of patriotic Nigerians within the then federal capital territory of lagos was nominated to form a committee known as Lagos Defence Committee, with a mission to protect the lagos populace^[14]. In 1984, the NSCDC was converted into a National Security Agency and metamorphosed into Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps. In 1988, the agency was reorganized and restructured. That same year, its command was established^[15]. In 2003, a bill was passed by the National Assembly to give statutory backing to the agency, with an intent to improve the statutory function of the corp, as well as to enhance the effective performance of the corp^[16][17]. In 2007, the 2003 act of the NSCDC was reviewed and amended to enhance the agency statutory duties^[18][19][20].

Statutory duties

The primary function of the NSCDC is to protect life and properties of all eligible citizens of Nigeria in conjunction with the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Armed Forces, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force^{[21][22][23][24][25][26]}. The agency protect National assets preventing its destruction, such as pipelines vandalism which is prevalent in the coastal region of Nigeria^[27][28][29]. The agency also involves in crisis resolutions^[30]. Although serious criminal cases are often reported to the Nigerian police^[31][32][33]. Other functions of the agency includes fighting against any unlawful act such as child sexual abuse, child labour, drug abuse and illegal businesses^{[34][35][36][37][38][39][40]}.