Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency, has started holding sessions with education administrators on how to curb cultism and drug abuse among youths.

It had also started regular sessions on security tips with members of the Community Development Committees, CDCs, and Community Development Associations, CDAs.

According to its Chairman, Israel Ajao, these were to enhance grassroots mobilisation and acceptability of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps by various CDAs.

Ajao, a former Deputy Inspector-General of Police said this in a statement titled, “Setting the Records Straight”, saying despite the many challenges facing the agency, it would continue to strive to live up to its mandate in the state.

He said the agency’s strategies for achieving this feat had included interfacing with education administrators and interactions with students.

The chairman said the agency had used such opportunities to explain how education administrators and students could curb the growing menace of cultism and drug abuse among youths.

Ajao, warned the public against raising negative criticisms against the corps, saying such were capable of discouraging them from being committed to their duties.

According to him, it is important to set the records straight by emphasising that the agency was primarily established for the purpose of providing a second layer of community policing in the state.

Ajao said in the past one year, the agency had arrested cultists, armed robbers, human traffickers, hoodlums, sexual offenders, burglars, murder suspects, rescued kidnapped and missing persons.

He said in the agency’s fight against crime in the last one year, some of its personnel had been attacked, injured, brutalised, maimed and killed.

The chairman said the agency was happy with the constructive criticisms and suggestions from the residents of the state, saying the agency would not be deterred by biased and negative criticisms in its determination to ensure a relatively crime-free Lagos.