Ambassador John Metchie, the Deputy Commander General (DCG), Intelligence, of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) on Saturday, May 10, 2025, received award as the Best and Most Accommodating DGC Intelligence.
The award was bestowed on Metchie by the Commander General of NFSS, Dr Joshua Wole Osatimehin, at the closing ceremony of the 2025 Training Workshop organized by NFSS management for senior officers and men of the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Provost units. Over 400 personnel of the Service participated in the training.
While handing over the trophy to Metchie, who is also the African Director, International Association of World Peace Advocates, (IAWPA), at the event that took place at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Ajao Adewale praised the NFSS for its contributory role in the fight against violent crimes in Nigeria and commended Amb. Metchie for the honour, which he described as well deserved.
In his address, Dr. Osatimehin said the training was designed to equip participants with both the technical skills and the mental resilience, critical thinking, and leadership required to excel in their duties, adding that the instructors selected were among the best, urging them to take full advantage of the knowledge and experience they bring.
He reminded them that competence without character was dangerous and advised them to keep their focus on the values of loyalty, integrity, accountability, and patriotism.
In his own remark, Amb. John Metchie said that the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) has the capacity to strengthen the country’s security framework, especially in hard-to-reach forested areas, and emphasised the critical role of intelligence in ensuring national security, even as he stressed that forest guards possess valuable on-ground information capable of addressing insecurity in remote regions.
He said that with the NFSS Bill passed by the two chambers of the national assembly, the ball was now in the court of President Bola Tinubu to assent to it, in order for the Service to contribute towards the realization of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, one of which he was to empower and deploy a special force to secure the vast forested areas of the country which he noted was critical to ending terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of criminalities in the country.
Metchie also praised the strategic leadership of NFSS Commander-General, Dr. Joshua Osatimehin, particularly for his efforts in pushing for legal recognition of the service and organising capacity-building for its personnel.
One of the Special Guests at the occasion, Magnus Ibezimako, who is a security and crime mediation expert, said having well-respectable personalities like Dr. Osatimehin and Ambassador Metchie as top management members of NFSS, was a testimony that the Service has a great future, saying it was no surprise that the activities of NFSS have been receiving accolades from the public while mainstream security agencies like the Police, Military and others have been collaborating with the Service, especially in surveillance and intelligence sharing.
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