NIGERIA has decided to set up a special security team to protect its power installations and infrastructure.
“We have decided now with the Minister of Power to have what we call the power rangers,” Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said on Friday during an appearance on Sunrise Daily.
The ‘power rangers’ will be created with officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and will be responsible for stopping the vandalism of power infrastructure which has caused blackouts across the country.
Amid growing reports of vandals damaging power installations and outcry over frequent blackouts sometimes caused by vandalism, the minister said it was critical to find a unique solution to the problem.
The decision to set up the power rangers, he said, was influenced by the successes of the Mines Marshalls unveiled by the Federal Government in March 2024 to tackle security challenges in the mining sector.
“What we had before we (the Bola Tinubu administration) came was the generalisation of national assets. But we said no, you cannot have one specific medication that can treat all illnesses,” he said.
“So you have to analyse every sector, the power sector, the water sector, the education sector, the health sector… and be able to create arms of Civil Defence under the same umbrella.”
Although the decision has been made to set up the ‘power rangers’, the minister didn’t provide a date for the unit to be unveiled or inaugurated.
Instead, he explained some of the steps being taken to create the unit.
“We’ve already agreed on the modus operandi and as I speak to you, the offices are being screened,” he said.
“Don’t forget that we are going to have officers in all 36 states plus the FCT because there is no state without a power infrastructure; it is just like the solid mineral sector.
“We are already in the process of onboarding those officers; we have to profile them, look at their capacity, look at their competence, look at their area of specialisation, look at a lot of considerations, even physical strength.”
