BY Dyepkazah Shibayan
The senate has postponed a conference committee report on the Nigeria Peace Corps (NPC) bill, 2017.
This comes two days after the police raided the headquarters of the corps in Jabi, Abuja, and arrested Dickson Akoh, commandant of the organisation, and over 40 of its members.
On Wednesday, the police alleged that “terrorist affiliates have infiltrated the corps to destroy the existing peace currently being enjoyed in the country”.
Jimoh Moshood, police spokesman, said the Peace Corps was registered as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) but opened “illegal training camps” across the county.
“It is consequent upon the above and the veracity of intelligence reports from reliable sources, indicating that subversive elements/groups and terrorist affiliates have infiltrated the Peace Corps of Nigeria secretly to ruin and destroy the existing peace currently being enjoyed in the country that the Peace Corps of Nigeria secret training camps were closed down in the FCT, Kwara and Niger states,” Moshood said in a statement.
“For avoidance of doubt the Peace Corps of Nigeria under the leadership of one Akoh Dickson was registered as an NGO but with brazen impunity, total disregard to the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, opened illegal training camps in some States of the Country, where thousands of youths and other persons without proper background check and screening are receiving converts military training.”
Both chambers of the national assembly have passed the bill for third reading, and the conference committee report of the bill, was slated for consideration on Thursday.
But when it was called up for consideration at the upper legislative chamber on Thursday, Ahmed Lawan, senate leader, pleaded that the matter be taken in another sitting.
Subsequently, the report was withdrawn.
Six members of the Peace Corps were reportedly injured during the police raid, while three others were unconscious at the National Hospital, Abuja.
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