The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Oyo State Command has established Disability Desk Units across the State Area and Divisional Command to promote inclusive security service delivery for persons with disabilities.
This was confirmed in a statement issued by the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD). The group said that it sustained advocacy engagement with the Command, with support from the Fund for Global Human Rights in partnership with Spaces for Change and Action Group on Free Civic Space.
The organisation said it undertook an advocacy visit to the NSCDC Oyo State Command on 17 March 2026 to demand institutional mechanisms that would enable PWDs access security services without discrimination.
It sustained the engagement through follow-up correspondence dated 28 April 2026 and 16 October 2026, thereby reinforcing the importance of establishing dedicated disability structures within the Command to cater for the concerns of persons with disabilities.
The Deputy Commandant of Corps (DCC) Olasedidu Ademola confirmed that on Thursday, 27th October 2026, the State Commandant, Commandant of Corps (CC) Augustine Padonu, approved and established Disability Desk Unit across the State Area and Divisional Commands of the NSCDC in Oyo State.
CCD describes this as “a step toward accessible and inclusive security services”. It’s a way to address the challenges posed to persons living with disabilities, which include accessing security services, seeking assistance, discrimination and violation of their civic rights.
CCD applauds that the introduction of the disability desk help address these challenges and also improve the responsivity of security personnel to specific needs and circumstances of persons with disabilities in their various forms.
While commending the Command, CCD stresses the fact that the absence of disability-sensitive procedures among security agencies helps fuel these challenges. CCD believes that for these challenges to be minimal, security personnel need to “understand disability rights, apply reasonable accommodation, adopt accessible communication approaches and ensure that persons with disabilities are treated with dignity and respect”.
To ensure the effective operationalisation of the disability desk unit, CCD stressed that “the unit must be accompanied by practical measures to ensure its functionality and accessibility to persons with disabilities.”
In this regard, CCD encourages NSCDC Oyo State Command to prioritise capacity building and inclusion training for officers assigned, establish accessible channels for receiving complaints in any form, strengthen coordination among all levels of disability desk unit at the State and Divisional levels, institutionalise engagement with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), make the activities public to allow PWDs and organisations to know how to access them, and develop appropriate mechanisms for accountability and monitoring of the unit’s performance.
The organisation called on other security agencies to collaborate with them to build a security sector that “is accessible, accountable, responsive and inclusive of all persons.”
