Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3240 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3259 (Online) Vol.34, 2015 94 Petroleum Products Scarcity in Abakaliki and the Challenges of Enforcing Administrative Law by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC Ebonyi State Command) Dr. Onwe, Sunday O. Department of Public Administration, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki Nwogbaga, David M.E. Department of Political Science, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki Nwuzor, Chidi Iroko Department of Public Administration, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki Abstract This study was carried out to appraise the role played by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC Ebonyi state command) in controlling crime and civil disobedience especially during the petroleum products scarcity in Abakaliki from 12 th to 14 th November, 2014. Public sentiment paradigm and the interest group theoretical perspective were combined to appraise the role played by the corps during the impasse. The interest group theory was adopted for the study, based on its relevance to the working of the NSCDC in Nigeria. The area and population of study were the entire Ebonyi state and its residents that use petroleum products on almost on a daily basis. The sad story is that liberty and freedom to exercise administrative power have often led to administrative vices like impunity, oppression, victimization and so on. This was evident in the hardship suffered by residents of Abakaliki during the misunderstanding between the Ebonyi state command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps and the Ebonyi State Petroleum Marketers Association. It is therefore needful to put in place strategies such as strategic public opinion boxes for masses to lodge their grievances on the excessive use of administrative laws to provide checks and balances in the administrative setting and to stimulate remedies for those who become victims of executive or administrative high handedness and misrule. Keywords: Petroleum products, challenges, administrative law, NSCDC. INTRODUCTION Administrative law or constitutionalism is the essence of democratic governance and so, any breach of constitutionalism is a step towards undemocratic governance or tyranny because, constitutionalism means literally, rule by the constitution, i.e., rule by the law and administrative law on its part means law made to facilitate or avoid the breach of human rights. In other words, administrative law stands to promote the right of the citizens especially in the area of service delivery. The most rampant phenomenon ever witnessed in virtually every part of Nigerian today is crime or civil disobedience; it is escalating grossly in higher proportion. Although, civil disobedience is as old as human society itself, it can be traced to the biblical Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and the primitive pastoral and horticultural societies when Cain and Abel, brought their harvest and gave to the Lord as offering but that of Cain was rejected by God and he became furious and angry which in turn led to the killing of his brother Abel as stated in Genesis (Chapter 14:1-16). This is perhaps the first crime ever recorded in human history. This as human society continued to evolve from a simply primitive composition to a more developed and complex stage, individual accumulations of wealth increased and crave for ownership of private property also increased. This crave has resulted to criminal and uncivil behaviour which spread and increased in the same proportion with the development of the society. Here in Nigeria and most especially, in the more urbanized areas, the colonial administration evolved institutions of social control to regulate behaviour patterns of members especially in area considered to be so prone to civil disobedience and violence. This was to ensure conformity to the rules necessary for the proper functioning of the British controlled Nigerian society. It should be noted that, in any democratic setting, the law making power certainly and indeed, rightly belongs to the legislature. This body is represented in Nigeria in form of National Assembly, made up of the Senate and House of Representatives, and House of Assembly at the federal and state levels respectively. Perhaps, it maybe reiterated that the assignment of law making power to a particular body is founded on John Locke’s theory of separation of powers popularized by Montesquieu. No doubt, the same theory necessitated the conferment of executive power on the executive and judiciary, the adjudicatory power. To say the essence of all these is anchored on the need to check anarchy and misuse of power at various levels of governance is about saying the obvious. Going through the literature however, one cannot but acknowledge the existence of the practice