In a bold step to tackle Nigeria’s rising security threats, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the creation and deployment of a national Forest Guards force to reclaim over 1,129 forest areas currently being exploited by terrorists, bandits, and criminal gangs.
The announcement, made public by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Mr. Sunday Dare, signals a major move in the government’s renewed security agenda. The new initiative is expected to flush out armed groups hiding in forest regions and restore state authority in remote areas long plagued by insecurity.
President Tinubu’s directive includes the recruitment of thousands of young Nigerians into the new forest guard unit. Both federal and state governments will collaborate on the exercise, while the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Ministry of Environment will oversee training, equipping, and operational deployment.
Mr. Dare confirmed via his verified X handle (@SundayDareSD) that the guards will undergo professional training and be fully armed, a move intended to match the growing sophistication of criminal threats operating within Nigeria’s dense forests.
The President stressed that no part of Nigeria would be ceded to criminals, saying, “We will take back the forests.”
This forest guard initiative also doubles as a strategic effort to create employment, especially for youth, while addressing one of the root causes of insecurity. The approach aligns with the Tinubu administration’s broader national security and economic recovery strategy.
According to the presidency, details of the recruitment and training schedule will soon be released by the supervising agencies.
The Northern Christian Youth Professionals (NCYP) praised the initiative, calling it a “bold and strategic solution to a complex problem.” Its chairman, Isaac Abrak, urged that the recruitment should remain apolitical and purely merit-based.
Similarly, the Arewa Think Tank (ATT), in a statement by Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, described the forest guard plan as “unprecedented and creative,” applauding President Tinubu for listening to the pulse of the people.
Obinna Ichita, Country Director for the German Initiative for Knowledge Transfer in Nigeria, also commended the initiative. He expressed hope that the forest guards will flush out both foreign and local criminal networks that hide in Nigeria’s forests to perpetrate kidnappings and killings.
Meanwhile, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, visited Operation Hadin Kai command in Maiduguri and reassured Nigerians that the military remains in full control despite recent attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Musa, accompanied by other security chiefs, acknowledged increased terrorist activity in the Northeast due to regional instability in the Sahel. However, he insisted that the Nigerian military is “on top of the situation,” with new weapons and fresh strategies ready to be deployed.
“This is not a one-man job,” Musa noted, calling on all Nigerians to join in the collective effort to secure the nation.
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