The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has cemented a partnership with the FCT Women Affairs Secretariat on the security of FCT women, adolescent girls, and young boys.

Speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with the FCT Women Affairs’ Mandate Secretary in Abuja, NSCDC FCT Commandant, Dr. Olusola Odumosu, said that the training for adolescent girls is essential to keeping them safe.

He noted that “Women and girls are the most vulnerable in society, therefore, the training of the adolescent girls especially in self-defence is coming at a very good time and the benefits cannot be overemphasized.

“NSCDC is a gender sensitive organisation, women are given their pride of place in the Corps, that is what led to the formation of the FSF and the appointment of Women in very senior management positions by the Commandant General, Dr Ahmed Abubarkar Audi, mni, OFR,” Odumosu said.

Odumosu who is a sports and martial arts enthusiast hinted that the training will be structured in a way that would be mentally and physically exciting to the girls and boys to make them willing to be part of it.

Commending the FCT pioneer Mandate Secretary, Dr Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi for raising the bar high with the self defence initiative due to her commitment and drive Odumosu said, “Women constitute a larger percentage of our population, hence, should play very vital roles in the society but we have not given them their pride of place.”

Responding, Dr. Benjamins-Laniyi said that the self-defence training is a key activity for the FCT women’s Secretariat to the security of women and girls in the FCT.

She said, “We have activities lined up by the Secretariat, one of which is to train adolescent girls, code-named “The orange girls” and young boys code-named The Orange Heart” on self defence.

“This we cannot achieve on our own, we will need the expertise of the NSCDC as an astute security agency that has successfully trained the Female Strike Force(FSF) to help us in actualizing that.”