Following cases of cult-related killings, consumption of illicit drugs and other criminal activities in the state, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has assured that the state government would collaborate with the security agencies to tackle the crimes.

The governor gave the assurance during a press briefing after the monthly Security Council meeting at the Government House, in Benin City.

He said: "We have just concluded our monthly Security Council Meeting where we analyzed the security situation in Edo State. I am happy to inform you that the number of security incidents has continued to drop as we compare and review the incident analysis between April and June this year.

"In the analysis, we found out that we have the lowest number of incidents in June about 54 cases compared to about 90 in the previous months and 100 in April. We have seen an improvement.

"As a government, we are still concerned about certain items. First, the rate of homicide is still very high as it has been linked to cult-related crises and conflicts. There are areas we are looking at, especially the cult issues in the state.

"We are deploying adequate resources to make sure we contain this crisis. We can't continue to lose young people the way we are losing them because of these senseless cult fights.

"We looked at areas relating to drugs and the consumption of drugs by young people. We have resolved to write and seek the assistance of the Chairman of NDLEA to work with us using their tools and supported by state government resources to make sure we tackle the incident of massive intake and consumption of drugs by young people in the state."

On his part, the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Dankwara, said the police had made further arrests of 46 persons in relation to the cult killings and other crimes.