WHETHER THE NON– SERVICE OF PRE-ACTION NOTICE ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND CIVIL DEFENCE CORPS (NSCDC) WILL VITIATE PROCEEDINGS INITIATED AGAINST IT.
Section 20 (3) of the NATIONAL SECURITY AND CIVIL DEFENCE CORPS (NSCDC) Act 2003 (as amended) provides:
No suit shall be commenced against a member or the Board or the Commander-General or any other officer or employee of the Corps before the expiration of a period of one month after written notice of intention to commence the suit shall have been served on the Corps by the intending plaintiff or his agent.
The law is trite that where words in a statute are clear and unambiguous the court must give the words their plain and ordinary meaning. The above provision is clear and unambiguous. The implication of the section is that no suit can be commenced against a Member, Board, or Commandant General or any other officer or employee of the Corps, before the expiration of one month of a pre-action notice.
In other words, where a Claimant sues the Corps itself, not its Member, Board, Commandant General or employee or other officer, a pre-action notice is not required.