The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has said there is a strong connection between banditry and illegal mining activities in the country.

NSCDC Commandant-General (CG), Ahmed Audi, said this during his first quarterly meeting with senior officers of the corps, on Thursday at the NSCDC headquarters, Abuja.

Audi stated that investigations indicated that illegal miners collaborated with suspected bandits to carryout their nefarious activities.

“These bad guys collude and connive with illegal miners and they hibernate in our environments to unleash mayhem and cart away our resources.

“These are really issues that we need to face head on and so we need to restrategies on what we have been doing and buckle up,” the C-G said.

According to him, the corps need to do more and add some bite to its operations and make it more robust.

Audi tasked senior officers of the corps to put in more efforts in the discharge of their duties, stressing that the Federal Government was fully committed to ensuring the mandates of the corps were achieved.

“We have been receiving various support from government and so it is expected that we reciprocate by putting in our best.

“Ways to reciprocate is to try to implement our mandate by providing security for critical national assets and infrastructure and also to provide security for Nigerians,” Audi said.

The C-G said that there was also need for the management team to engage in appraisal discussions for the betterment of the corps and Nigeria at large.

“ We need to appraise ourselves on what we have been doing, methods implemented, results achieved and challenges.

“In the long run we need to discuss strategies on how to cope with challenges so identified and then chart the way forward.”

Audi tasked the officers on the enormous responsibility of ensuring security amidst emerging security threats posed by asymmetric conflicts, characterised by oil theft, vandalism, farmers/herders clashes amongst others.

“This insurgency has also metamorphosed into terrorism and terrorism has given birth to kidnapping and hostage-taking,” the C-G said.(NAN)