By Chimezie Godfrey
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has joined forces with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in order to take disciplinary action against security agents compromising the ban on inter-state movement.
The Director General, Dr Garba Abari who stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, during a pressing briefing said that the collaboration between the two agencies is neccessitated by the discovery that security agents are comprising the ban on interstate movement by succumbing to financial inducement.
According to the DG, the ICPC was represented by Professor Bolaji Owasonye, who was represented by Secretary to the Commission, Prof. Musa Usman Abubakar.
Abari noted,”The National Orientation Agency in the spirit of its on-going partnership with the ICPC is working towards contributing to the effectiveness of the protocols around the partial lifting of the lockdown by Mr President.
“The present collaboration is born of the fact that several observations are being made to the effect that some security personnel are compromising the ban on interstate travels and the curfew by collecting gratification and allowing free passage of unauthorised persons.
“The present collaboration between NOA and ICPC will set up surveillance to ensure that those who indulge in these acts are apprehended and brought to book.”
On ongoing the efforts of NOA in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Abari revealed that the agency commenced public sensitization as soon as the first index case in the country was announced.
“The Agency produced video and audio awareness jingles on the disease in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba languages, distributed them accordingly to all states of the Federation, solicited and obtained slots on several government owned media houses across the country and airing commenced.
“Our State Directorates have also displayed high level of creativity and patriotism by producing their own jingles as well in the local languages spoken in their states and securing airtime for same,” he said.
Abari noted that security operatives in some cases are compromising the ban on inter-state movement by accepting inducements and, in exchange, granting travellers passage.
He said as part of efforts to address this, the NOA is partnering with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to provide toll-free numbers to enable Nigerians report such misconducts.
The DG appealed to Nigerians to strictly observe the hygiene and safety measures approved by health authorities to avoid contracting the virus under this partial lockdown.
He urged Nigerians to strengthen the practice of personal hygiene, especially regular hand washing with soap and water or use of alcohol based hand sanitizers and use of face masks in public in addition to maintenance of 2 meters distance from other people, among others.
