Reps oppose FG’s plan to arm firefighters

The plan by the Federal government to allow officers and men of the fire service to carry guns has been rejected by the House of Representatives.
The House said on Tuesday that there was no need to arm the firefighters as their duties were civil.
The House, instead, asked the Executive to increase the budgetary allocation of the Federal Fire Service to ensure that adequate infrastructure was put in place for efficient service delivery.
It also urged the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps to assign officers to the Federal Fire Service to accompany firefighters on emergency duties.
The rejection followed a motion, ‘Call to Discourage Arming of Personnel of the Federal Fire Service’, moved by Hon. Thomas Ereyitomi, considered at Tuesday plenary.
In the motion, Ereyitomi said the announcement by the Federal Government to present before the National Assembly a bill to repeal the Fire Service Act and grant firefighters the power to bear arms to protect the firefighters from mob attacks while carrying out their duties and responding to emergencies.
He said the announcement has caused anxiety to the public due to reckless use of firearms by those who have been licensed to use the same by their position as security agents resulting in death or grave injuries to citizens.
He said, “The Federal Fire Service is a civil outfit, not a security agency and therefore not logical to allow personnel of the outfit to bear firearms, as they do not require such arms to carry out their duties
“Some mob attacks on firefighters are usually due to frustration on the part of victims when firefighters arrive late and ill-prepared to avert emergencies.
“Instead of creating an arms squad of the Federal Fire Service, adequate resources be channelled into improving the service delivery of the Federal Fire Service including the provision of Fire hydrants in every local government area, updating the Global Positioning System (GPS) service of the Federal Fire Service to locate emergency scenes swiftly.
“Arming the Federal Fire Service would add to the growing concerns about the reckless use of arms by the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies as doing so would be unnecessary and insensitive to the current pensive state of the nation.”
The House mandated the Committee on Interior to liaise with its Committee on Appropriations to ensure adequate allocation to Federal Fire Service in the 2022 budget and ensure proper oversight.