NSCDC SUSPENDS OFFICER OVER ALLEGED SHOOTING AT ABUJA MARKET

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By: Fasasi Hammad

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has suspended a Deputy Superintendent of Corps, Onoja Babayo Samuel, over alleged sporadic shooting during a confrontation with traders at Kubwa Market in Abuja.

The corps also ordered an Orderly Room Trial to determine the officer’s level of culpability in the incident, which occurred on October 25, 2026.

The suspension followed Samuel’s arrest by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command over allegations that he fired shots into the air during a dispute with traders.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the NSCDC’s National Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi, said the officer’s conduct constituted a gross violation of the corps’ rules of engagement and standard operating procedures.

The Commandant-General of the corps, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, reportedly ordered the officer’s immediate suspension and the commencement of disciplinary proceedings.

According to the statement, Audi maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards the misuse of firearms and other forms of professional misconduct.

The corps said Samuel had been relieved of his duties and stripped of his official responsibilities pending the conclusion of the disciplinary process.

It added that a committee at the NSCDC national headquarters in Abuja would handle the case, noting that the outcome of the Orderly Room Trial and internal disciplinary proceedings would be made public after their conclusion.

The NSCDC reaffirmed its commitment to protecting lives and upholding professional standards, stressing that it would neither tolerate nor shield any officer whose actions endangered public safety or violated operational guidelines.

Earlier, the FCT Police Command announced Samuel’s arrest following a distress call reporting that an armed man was firing shots into the air at a market in Kubwa.

The police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, said the officer had reportedly gone to the market with a pistol after receiving information that some traders had assaulted his wife.

Police operatives attached to the Kubwa Division were subsequently deployed to the scene, where they disarmed and arrested him.