In a bid to further boost the capacity of NSCDC personnel in Disaster and Crisis Management, over 100 staff drawn from the National Headquarters of the Corps and Federal Capital Territory Command have been trained on the agency’s response towards civilians in times of emergency in collaboration with Centre for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC).
According to the Commandant General, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, mni, the programme is aimed at assisting participants in learning more techniques and acquiring new orientation.
The programme with the theme “Protection of Civilian and Civilian Harm Mitigation” will further enhance the capacity of personnel to know how to manage civilians in reducing casualties when there is crisis.
Represented by the Deputy Commandant General in charge of Crisis and Disaster Management, Dr Nnamdi Nwinyi, the CG went down memory lane and cited roles played by the Corps by educating civilians on how to respond to bombings and other emergencies, during the civil war.
This dates back to 1967, when the Corps was established as a voluntary agency then known as Lagos Civil Defence Committee.
The Commandant General stressed the need to extend the training to State Commands, tasking participants to put the knowledge acquired into use on the field.
He noted that, already, the Corps is reknown for its deployment of soft approach while relating with the civil populace and emphasised that the training was timely, apt and germaine to the execution of the Corps’ mandate.
On his part, the Country Director, CIVIC- Nigeria, Benson Olugbuo, PhD, appreciated the NSCDC for its ability, energy, ideas, expertise and responsibility of protecting national critical assets and infrastructure.
He explained that CIVIC-Nigeria was established in 2016 and since then, it has worked in the Northeast mainly Borno State, Abuja and Kaduna State.
CIVIC envisions a world in which no civilian is harmed in conflict and supports communities affected by conflict in their quest for protection.
“We also strengthen the resolve and capacity of armed actors as well as international and multilateral institutions to prevent and respond to civilian harm”, the Country Director added.
According to him, “we believe that civilians are not “collateral damage” and civilian harm is not an unavoidable consequence of conflict — civilian harm can and must be prevented.
“We believe that civilians are not merely victims of conflict but have agency and influence in ensuring that their protection needs are met.
He continued that civilians experience conflict differently based on several aspects of their identities, including gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, ethnicity, and language and therefore, have different protection needs.
Stressing further that, armed actors are responsible and must be held accountable for preventing and addressing civilian harm, hence the training.
In his view, direct engagement with armed actors and civilians is necessary to significantly reduce harm and improve protection outcomes for conflict-affected communities.
He declared that, the workshop was to enhance the capability of NSCDC to take every feasible precaution to mitigate civilian harm, and in the event of accidental and or incidental harm, encourage the practice of making amends.
“The training is to enlighten participants on the principles of protecting civilians and civilians harm mitigation, enhance understanding of participants on the strategic value of protecting civilians.
“It is aimed at achieving security objectives in asymmetric operations while at the same time introducing the concept of civilian harm tracking and its benefits to security forces”, the Country Director said.
