President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a national forest guard system to bolster security across Nigeria’s 1,129 forests, with recruitment and training of personnel set to begin immediately.
The initiative, which is a collaborative effort between the federal and state governments, aims to flush out terrorists, bandits, and other criminal groups that have turned the forests into operational bases for criminal activities.
According to a directive from the Presidency, the newly established forest guards will be well-trained, fully armed, and strategically deployed to ensure effective territorial control and surveillance. The Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Federal Ministry of Environment have been tasked with overseeing the full implementation of the program.
Thousands of young Nigerians are expected to be employed under the scheme, which the President described as a decisive step toward reclaiming the nation’s forests from criminal elements.
President Tinubu reiterated his administration’s zero-tolerance stance on insecurity, declaring that no inch of Nigerian territory would be surrendered to terrorists or criminal gangs. “We will take back our forests,” the President vowed.
