The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Osun Command, has called on residents of the state to be proactive in providing security support to the corps and other security agencies.

The call was made at the inauguration of the Civil Defence Public Relations Committee (CDPRC) at the West “A” NSCDC Area Command in Ayedaade Local Government Development Area of the state.

This was contained in a statement issued in Osogbo by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Atanda Olabisi.

According to the command’s spokesperson, the CDPRC is a grassroots security team comprising community leaders and other citizens that will work with NSCDC to prevent crime in the local communities.

Olabisi said the NSCDC Commandant in the state, Emmanuel Ocheja, noted that security personnel could not be everywhere all the time, hence, the CDPRC was inaugurated to get everyone involved in providing security.

Ocheja, represented at the inauguration by the Asst. Commandant, Bashir Sarafadeen, therefore, stressed the need for collaborative efforts to get indigenous people involved in securing the state.

“The CDPRC, which was inaugurated by the Command earlier this year, is a grassroot–level security team of local leaders and citizens who work with NSCDC to prevent crime by giving proactive intelligence in their communities,” he said

The Commandant further explained that the committee members were saddled with the responsibility of providing proactive intelligence and bringing suspicious activities in their neighbourhood to the NSCDC’s attention.

Also, Mr Ponle Sunday, the NSCDC Divisional Officer, Ayedaade South LCDA, sensitised the committee members to their new roles in the Osun Command.

Sunday noted that the inauguration was timely, and stressed the need to make the state safe and secured, especially as the state governorship election was around the corner close by, urging residents to be more vigilant.

He added that the CDPRC initiative was an additional effort by the state command to deliver on the core mandates of NSCDC and to tackle the spate of insecurity in Osun.

The statement added that the newly inaugurated CDPRC comprises 20 members drawn from the Araromi Owu community, Ayedaade South LCDA of Osun.