Accidental discharge: NSCDC conducts psychological test for 700 officials
No fewer than 700 personnel serving in Gombe State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), are expected to undergo a compulsory psychological test.
Speaking in a chat with journalists on Tuesday, State Commandant Samson Wabulari debunked insinuations that citizens’ were killed by uniformed men due to accidental discharge, stressing that this test would restore sanity in the system.
Represented by the Deputy Corps Commandant Ibrahim Meswok, Wabulari noted that the corps is committed to the protection of life and property.
Recall that in 2019 Easter celebration an official of the corps was said to have been involved in the death of some boys brigade members by allegedly gushing poo
Wabulari said, “Nigerians are entitled to freedom of life, freedom of movement and their lives and property must be protected overtime it has been discovered that officers misuse the fire arms given to them and most of the time it will be termed as accidental discharge.
“As far as the authority is concerned there is nothing as accidental discharge because when you are trained you are trained completely on how to perfectly handle firearms. We have what is known as safety cash and until you release that bullet can’t come out.
“The Commandant General Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi in his quest to see that civil defence is not involved in accidental discharge. It is assumed that officers whom are involved in such act probably may not have their senses in place. The test will confirm that they are sound mentally, effective, loyal. Whatever you do has direct impact on the brain.”
Commenting on the possibility of weeding out officers who would fail the psychological test, he stressed such persons would be barred from handling rifle throughout the life of their service year.
“We have over over 700 personnel that we are going to test on this. It will take some time even though the official time is supposed to be two days. As you know,some are on field assignment and you can’t ask them to just leave for this without replacement.
“When a person has mental problem it may be traced to the job, so when we discover you have such problem we take away firearms from your hand and assign you to another job that doesn’t need firearm to continue as civil defender but will not handle firearm for the rest of your life even after your retirement. The psychological test just started it began with us senior officers,” Wabulari added.
