Participants at the capacity building training facilitated by Top-Private Security Services Limited and powered by Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) for its personnel and those of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have asserted that the refresher course has given them a new perspective in the war against oil theft which will improve their performance on the job of securing national infrastructure (pipelines).

Recall that personnel of both the NSCDC and TSSNL are partaking in a three-day capacity building training at the Jubilee Retreat and Conference Center in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, which began on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.

Speaking to PENGlobal Community, an official of the NSCDC, DCS Mark Luka Shinwas, who reiterated that the duty of the agency of government in the Niger Delta is to secure critical and national oil and gas infrastructure in the region, stated that the course has offered them a new dimension.

DCS Shinwas said., "So far, we've learned, apart from what we originally have been doing at the field, another perspective to the fight against pipeline vandalism. Protecting critical national infrastructure is our whole mandate. Now with this training it has given us an edge because we are seeing another perspective; gadgets that have been introduced and safety protocols too, which before now, we were just doing it out of zeal, but now we have been given that awareness on how to go about it.

"So the program is actually beneficial to us, the Tantita personnel, as we go back now, definitely we are going to be fully equipped on how to go about this duty," he added.

DCS Shinwas thanked the NSCDC Commandant General, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, OFR MNI, whose onerous efforts he said, "brought about the collaboration between Tantita Security Services and the Top-Security Services to organize a refresher course like this, a retraining for the personnel of the civil defense as well as the personnel of the Tantita Security Services in order to give us a foothold upon our effort in combating this pipeline vandalism."

A coordinator of TSSNL, Shadrach Onitsha Ebikeme, stated that the training has helped to enlighten participants on the need to build good relationships with host communities, to be safety conscious, and most importantly how to handle suspects in a way that is legal.

"This training has helped us in diverse ways. First, we are able to create relationships with NSCDC, even within Tantita, as well as the resource persons who were able to give us some tips that would change some of the ways of our operations for better results.

"Tantita has gotten a lot of court cases which has been happening because of the poor relationship with the communities we are operating, in respect the arrest we make and the way some of us were going about it, which was causing some problems for Tantita. But with the exposure we have gotten now, those problems will no longer arise," he assured.

Speaking further he said, "This training has also afforded us to know how to take care of ourselves, safety and security wise. For instance, one of the speakers talked about having a paddle in your boat, a fire extinguisher, a life jacket, and other things in case of emergency or accident, and certain rules to follow in order to avoid accidents.

"However, the way the operation is going, from the western corridor and the central corridor, a lot of areas are green; green in the sense that we're not experiencing loss like before. So it means the coordinators are working with the help of the security agency that are working with us. There's a lot of improvement," he added.

He thanked the management of Tantita for the opportunity to partake and for putting together such a laudable programme, as well as he expressed his gratitude to the resource persons and the Top-Private Security for the brainstorming engagements.

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