The anti-vandal squad team of Kwara State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has arrested a five-member criminal gang of pipeline vandalism syndicate terrorising the state.

Head of Anti-Vandalism Unit of the Corps, Quasim Sheriff, disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Ilorin, weekend.

Sheriff also said the pipeline vandals were arrested late last year at Igboho, Oyo State, by men of the State Security Service, SSS.

He said members of the criminal gang, who were initially handed-over to the civil defence corps were being presently prosecuted at the Ilorin High Court.

In a related development, the state commandant of the corps, Yerima Gana, weekend, led men and officers of the command in an annual interdenominational prayer and thanksgiving service to herald in the new year, just as the corps clocks 10 years of establishment this year.

The state commandant, Yerima Gana told journalists at the end of the programme that the prayer session, which was a national directive by the Commandant-General to all commands, was meant to ask for God's continued protection, particularly with the present security challenges in the country.

"The prayer sessions, which were coordinated by the Mukadam, Muslim spiritual head of the command, Ustaz Busari Shuaib, and the corps' chaplain, Oluyemi Busola, saw the members in prayers and praise-singing sessions."

The clerics, who asked God for wisdom, knowledge and understanding for the leadership of the country and the corps, also prayed for God's protection in the day-to-day activities and to direct their affairs towards attaining set goals.

Gana, who said his focus for the year was to perform better in the task of sustaining harmonious co-existence in the state, charged people to volunteer useful information to help protect them better and solve the insecurity situation in the country.