Commandant General of the NSCDC, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Nasarawa State has arrested a 21-year-old suspected candidate for being in possession of firearms in one of the centres of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in the state.

Mr Bashir Lawal-Kano, the state commandant of the NSCDC, told newsmen in Lafia on Thursday that the suspect was arrested at the Nasarawa State Polytechnic centre during a search at the entrance to the hall.

Lawal-Kano said that the suspect was arrested on Tuesday after he was found to be in possession of a locally-made pistol and two rounds of live ammunition.

He said upon interrogation, the suspect confessed that someone gave him the gun for safe keeping.

He said that the suspect would be charged to court for illegal possession of firearms, adding that even registered guns were not allowed at examination centres.

Lawal-Kano also said the command had arrested one Mohammed Alakayi from Doma Local Government Area of the state for allegedly posing as a recruitment agent for the NSCDC.

According to him, the command has received several complaints from the public over alleged cases of fake recruitment.

“We have had reports of some criminal elements posing as our recruitment agents and following our intelligence, we arrested the suspect with full uniform of NSCDC and forged recruitment forms,” he said.

He said that five witnesses had testified that the suspect collected between N 4,000 and N15,000 each from them under the pretext that he was going to get them job with the command.

“We are therefore charging him to court for impersonation and fraud as soon as investigation is completed, ” Lawal-Kano said.

He, however, appealed to job seekers, especially those desiring to join the NSCDC, to be watchful and disregard any information concerning recruitment coming from any other source apart from the command or its headquarters.

(NAN)