The tenure of Ahmed Abubakar Audi as Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) is a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked power and the devastating consequences of institutional deca and corruption. The allegations against him paint a picture of a leader who allegedly prioritized personal gain over the welfare of his officers and the security of the nation.
His scandalous era as commandant of the NSCDC has been marked by excessive centralization of power, commercialization of posting, death of professionalism among others as would be highlights below:
A general embarassing situstion thst has eveloped the Corps since his assumption of office is the shameless and now entrenched practice of the Commercialization of Postings and Training.
Audi’s administration is accused of turning postings and training into a lucrative business, with officers allegedly paying up to N10 million for desirable positions. This not only undermines the professionalism of the force but also creates a culture of corruption, where those who pay the most are rewarded with plum assignments.
Centralization of Power.
The concentration of power in Audi’s hands, reportedly including the involvement of his spouses in issuing directives to State Commandants, is a recipe for disaster. This has allegedly led to a culture of fear and sycophancy, where officers are more concerned with currying favor than performing their duties.
Neglect of Welfare and Infrastructure
The alleged neglect of officer welfare, including unpaid allowances and poor working conditions, has demoralized the force and undermined its effectiveness. The lack of investment in infrastructure, including the failure to build new state command buildings, is a stark contrast to the lavish spending on personal projects, such as the alleged N20,000 compulsory training fee.
Undermining Professionalism and Morale
The cumulative effect of these allegations is a force that is ill-equipped, demoralized, and lacking in professionalism. The NSCDC, once a proud institution, is now reportedly struggling to perform its core functions, with officers more focused on survival than serving the nation.
Accountability is Key
The allegations against Audi and his administration are serious and demand a thorough investigation. If true, they represent a catastrophic failure of leadership and a betrayal of the trust reposed in the NSCDC. It’s time for accountability and for those responsible to face the music. The NSCDC must regain its credibility as a professional and effective security agency, and that starts with rooting out corruption and restoring the dignity of its officers. BACKWARD The tenure of Commandant General Ahmed Abubakar Audi is widely regarded within the Corps as a period of unprecedented Institutional regression, one that many officers argue reversed decades of professionalisation and dragged the NSCDC back into a volunteer-era mindset. The cumulative effect of alleged financial impropriety, administrative arbitrariness, welfare neglect, and infrastructural decay has left the Corps weakened, demoralised, and structurally hollowed out.
1. Training, an essential pillar of any disciplined security Institution, was effectively commercialised. Officers, both senior and junior, must pay compulsory training fees of N20,000, with no corresponding provisions from management. This practice, represents not capacity building but the monetisation of professional development, shifting the burden of institutional responsibility onto already overstretched personnel. De4spite this was adequately budgeted.
2. Serious questions trail the alleged engagement of the Commandant General’s brother to develop a “curriculum” reportedly costing millions of naira. Four years later, this curriculum remains neither mainstreamed nor publicly implemented, raising concerns of conflict of interest, waste, and diversion of resources with no tangible benefit to officers’ career progression.
3. Postings, particularly to lucrative State Commands, are widely a common cash-and-carry transactions, in NSCDC with figures ranging between N5 million and N10 million reportedly exchanged before appointments were approved. This practice institutionalise corruption at the highest levels, rewarding financial muscle over competence and integrity.
4. Financial recklessness allegedly became normalised. State Commandants and Component Commanders are variously and normally compelled to convert compulsory monthly remittances into foreign currency before submission through designated conduits. This alone raises grave red flags bordering on
financial crimes and currency manipulation. In NSCDC Hard Copies for CG means forex converted. S. Governance within the Corps under Audis watch collapsed into personalised control. The spouses of the Commandant General were reportedly installed as informal power centres across State Commands, issuing directives that State Commandants were compelled to obey under threat of instant removal, an arrangement that represent institutional capture by proxy. Almost all Audis wives are junior staff yet they ride senior officers roughshod to no fault.
6. Staff welfare deteriorated sharply. Election duty allowances were either unpaid or reduced to a token N10,000.00 across board, despite extensive deployments. During Ondos election it was the Commandant General of Amotekun that bailed NSCDC Officers in Ondo state to the chagrin of onlookers. This atmosphere of disdain and neglect has directly contributed to declining morale, discipline, and commitment to duty.
7. Infrastructural decay under the administration of Audi is staggering. Officers note that not a single new State Command building can be credibly attributed to the Audi administration, in sharp contrast to predecessors. A visit to the NSCDC headquarters and state commands reportedly reveals a level of infrastructural neglect that betrays the Corps’ expanding mandate.
8. Basic functionality collapsed. Power supply at headquarters was reportedly dependent on the physical presence of the Commandant General, forcing departments to work in darkness, rely on personal generators, or conduct operations remotely. A national security institution, officers argue, cannot function on “my neighbour’s generator.”
9. The scale of decadence could be seen as many atimes and severally, AEDC has had to severe the NSCDC from the national grid due to unpaid debt thereby causing untold embarrassment to the Corps and a major blow to the psyche of staff at the HQ.
10, Management itself allegedly ceased to exist. There were reportedly no regular management meetings, no advisory council, and no collective decision-
brother during his tenure as Vice Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, prioritising personal affiliations over national security needs.
The Core Issue Taken together, these allegations paint the picture of an administration that allegedly: a. Commercialised postings and training b. Centralised power without accountability c. Neglected welfare and infrastructure d. Undermined professionalism and morale e. Exposed the Corps to reputational and operational decline These are not minor grievances. They are systemic failures that demand independent investigation, forensic auditing, and institutional reckoning. If the NSCDC is to regain credibility as Nigeria’s lead agency for Critical National Assets and Infrastructure protection, the era of silence must end, and accountability must begin.
