The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Benue State Command, on Wednesday, said that about 15 suspects were arrested for various crimes during the yuletide.

The Public Relations Officer for the command, Michael Ejelikwu, disclosed this during an interview in Makurdi.

Mr Ejelikwu, who said that the suspects were arrested at various locations within the state, also noted that the number of arrests made had reduced drastically in comparison to previous years.

He attributed the development to collaborative efforts between security agencies in the state, adding that crimes had reduced in the state because of the support from the state governor, Hyacinth Alia.

He said, “In the previous years, our cells were filled with many suspects after the Christmas and New Year celebrations, but this year is different, because of the synergy we have with other sister agencies. What evades us will not evade the police, what evades the police will not evade the army. Criminals therefore have no hiding place in Benue again. NSCDC core mandate is to protect critical national assets, but we cannot look away when kidnapping is taking place, and that is why Security agencies are succeeding in curbing crimes in the state. Our governor too, is a security loving man, who always looks out for the peace of the state. So he recently donated Hilux vehicles and motorcycles to security agencies in the state to enable us do our jobs better.’’

Mr Ejelikwu disclosed that the command as headed by the state Commandant, Larai Bitrus, was committed to ridding the state of vandals and other criminals.

He added that vandals were running from the state because the command was now collaborating with scrap dealers to stop providing markets for them.

He appealed to members of the public to always give intelligence reports to security agencies if they notice any security breach around them.

According to him, security is not a one-man business.

(NAN)