diff --git a/src/modsecurity.cc b/src/modsecurity.cc
index 9f4b6091..c862e097 100644
--- a/src/modsecurity.cc
+++ b/src/modsecurity.cc
@@ -255,10 +255,8 @@ extern "C" void msc_cleanup(ModSecurity *msc) {
  *
  * @endcode
  */
-extern "C" ModSecurity *msc_init() {
-    ModSecurity *modsec = new ModSecurity();
-
-    return modsec;
+extern "C" ModSecurity *msc_init(void) {
+    return new ModSecurity();
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/rules.cc b/src/rules.cc
index 85bea585..d0489434 100644
--- a/src/rules.cc
+++ b/src/rules.cc
@@ -309,10 +309,8 @@ void Rules::dump() {
 }
 
 
-extern "C" Rules *msc_create_rules_set() {
-    Rules *rules = new Rules();
-
-    return rules;
+extern "C" Rules *msc_create_rules_set(void) {
+    return new Rules();
 }