By Ude Ogbonnaya Israel
The Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) Bauchi state Command, Oloyede Nelson Oyerinde has dismissed the claim that his men engaged in shooting of innocent citizens during an arrest attempt in Bauchi community.
Speaking exclusively to our correspondent in his office on Monday, the NSCDC Commandant in the state insisted that his men were professional in their conduct.
According to him, the said suspect whom their men went to invite over theft allegations did not just attempted to resist arrest but had arranged some persons who attempted to create scene over his arrest thus attracting more attention.
Commandant Oyerinde said that his men may had shot on the air as normal to create order as normal and others persons there might have scampered and as such sustained degrees of injury, but the shooting were certainly not targetted on any individual.
“I cannot take it out completely that maybe the shot on the air during the escape, but there was not bullet or gunshots that hit the victims, maybe it was injury sustained during their escape or scampering, that’s exactly what happened”, he added.
He argued that the weapon carried by his men were sophisticated including AK 47 as approved by law but was not used on anyone adding that the injured victims they visited in hospital had no sign or evidence of shooting from such weapons.
“I have to send my men to the hospital where the victims are receiving treatment, on reaching there, the wounds sustained by the victims were clearly not from gunshots, because we did not carry a Den Gun, we carried prohibited firearms” the Commandant said.
Hence faulted the shooting narratives on innocent ones and warned that when security officers come to invite anyone on any allegation, resistance may attract forceful arrest attempt and avoidable unrest.Recall that residents of Tudun Wadan Galadima in Bauchi Local Government Area have alleged that gunshots fired by the men of the command led to the injuring of many including innocent bystanders.
However, the NSCDC boss strongly condemned the narrative which he described as false adding that his men are currently engaging the traditional leaders of the community on best approach towards such scenarios.
