Multiple Nigerian states are rushing to deploy forest guards as insecurity deepens across the country, marking a significant expansion of the federal government’s Presidential Forest Guards Initiative. The programme was launched by President Bola Tinubu in May 2025 as part of renewed efforts to tackle nationwide insecurity, and has already yielded fruits with over 7,000 newly recruited Nigerian Forest Guards graduating following successful completion of an intensive three-month training programme.
Kwara State has deployed nearly 1,000 newly trained forest guards to its hinterlands, declaring war on terrorists and kidnappers exploiting the state’s wooded terrain. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq delivered a blunt message to criminal elements at a passing-out parade in Ilorin: their days of using Kwara’s forests as a sanctuary are over, with plans to station at least 200 guards in each of the state’s 17 local government areas.
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) announced that graduation ceremonies were held across seven pilot states—Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Niger, Kwara, and Kebbi—deemed most vulnerable to forest-based criminality. National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu assured the public that the Forest Guards will be deployed immediately to identify hotspots and enhance existing security architecture, particularly in forested and ungoverned areas.
The Forest Guards are indigenous to their respective local government areas, enabling them to leverage terrain familiarity and community trust in countering banditry, kidnapping, and the illegal exploitation of forest resources. As first responders, they are expected to dominate and ensure the security of the forest ecosystem, gather actionable human intelligence, support ongoing security operations, and enhance presence in hitherto ungoverned spaces.
The primary mission of the forest guards is to confront banditry, insurgency, terrorism, and other criminal activities flourishing in forested regions, with a dual mandate to act as environmental stewards protecting against illegal logging and mining, and more critically, serve as force multipliers against armed groups. The newly trained guards will be dispatched without delay to all affected communities in the specified states, especially those surrounding forested and unregulated areas.
The initiative follows a declared national security emergency, with President Tinubu ordering a broader overhaul that includes recruiting more police and soldiers, and deploying forest guards alongside conventional forces to flush criminals from hideouts. The initial deployment of 7,000 forest guards is anticipated to pave the way for a national expansion as more personnel are trained, with processes already begun to train new cohorts in additional states.
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