New commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Abia State, Mr Paul Igwebuike has told the officers and men of the command that they must think and act ahead of criminals to check crime in the society.

Igwebuike who stated this after assuming office at the command’s headquarters in Umuahia, the state capital promised to bring his wealth of experience as a seasoned criminologist to bear in his new position.

He said, “I strongly believe in intelligence-based crime detection and prevention as a superior approach in security tendering. I, therefore charge you all to redouble your efforts in intelligence information gathering.”

Igwebuike expressed appreciation to the commandant-general of the corps, Dr. Ahmed Audi, for the opportunity given to him to serve in the capacity and gave the assuring that he would not let both him and the corps down.

He also applauded his predecessor, Muhammad Hassan Sanyinna, for “his invaluable contributions towards making the corps very relevant in the state as I pledge to bring fresh zeal towards conquering new grounds.”

While promising to carry everybody along in the scheme of things, he warned against truancy, indecent dressing, indiscipline and all forms of unpatriotic acts capable of dragging the image of the corps to the mud.

Earlier, Sanyinna, who retired after a successful service, lauded Audi for the opportunity offered him to serve in the state and appealed to the officers and men of the command to support Igwebuike as they did to him.