The deployment of forest guards

LAST month, following a three-month training programme, the Federal Government announced the graduation of over 7,000 newly recruited forest guards drawn from seven frontline states, namely Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Niger, Kwara and Kebbi. By design, the Presidential Forest Guards Initiative launched by President Bola Tinubu in May 2025 aims to strengthen Nigeria’s internal security architecture by denying terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminal groups sanctuary within forested and hard-to-reach terrains. The Nigerian Forest Guard is an inter-agency national security initiative established under the leadership of the National Security Adviser, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment. It is operationally coordinated by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Park Service. The programme also draws doctrine, operational alignment, and strategic input from the Defence Headquarters, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police Force, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The training programme supervised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was framed as intensive, structured, and demanding, designed to transform loyal and committed Nigerians into agile, disciplined, and capable field operatives. As the government was quite keen to point out, the curriculum integrated environmental conservation principles with advanced security competencies, ensuring a balanced, professional, and mission-ready force, and the trainees underwent extensive physical and mental conditioning, including endurance exercises, obstacle-crossing drills, and long-range patrol simulations to prepare them for sustained forest operations. The recruits, it said, were also trained in tactical fieldcraft, including movement techniques, enemy-contact drills, ambush response, rescue operations, and coordinated offensive actions, with the programme laying strong emphasis on ethics, legality, and professionalism. Not surprisingly, the curriculum was also said to have placed significant focus on human rights, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), gender rights, and the protection of civilians.

READ ALSO: How forest guards will support Nigeria’s security architecture — NSA Ribadu

 Speaking at the graduation ceremonies, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, enthused: “These forest guards are not just uniformed personnel. They are first responders, community protectors, and a critical layer of Nigeria’s security architecture. They will hold ground, gather intelligence, and support security agencies in reclaiming territories previously overtaken by criminal elements. There will be no delay between graduation and deployment. Salaries and allowances will commence immediately, and every certified guard will proceed directly to assigned duty posts.” According to the government, the guards are indigenous to their respective local government areas. This, it said, would enable them to leverage terrain familiarity and community trust in countering banditry, kidnapping, and the illegal exploitation of forest resources. Sounds great.

 Announcing the initiative, the Tinubu administration positioned it as a tool to secure Nigeria’s 1,129 forests from terrorists and criminal gangs. One immediate task is to flush out terrorists and criminals hiding in forests. Last year, taking cognizance of terrorists’ use of Nigeria’s forest as bases for their criminal activities, we welcomed the forest guard initiative in principle. We were quick to point out, however, that it can be no substitute for state policing. We urged the government to clarify its mandate and relationship with existing security agencies and back it up with law to ensure effectiveness. But beyond these, we urged it to address widespread and age-long concerns about Nigeria’s centralised security architecture. While the current initiative ostensibly sits between federal and state control, it is unapologetically federal in character, and history constrains us to ask for greater clarity on its operational modality. To effectively secure their citizens, states would need to have their own policing outfits. No more, no less.

Now that the guards have been deployed, the onus is on the government to ensure that they execute their defined mandate effectively. That is the only way to placate a demonstrably weary populace, a populace that daily sees men in uniform but little or no security. It is time to secure and reinvent the forests. This isn’t mere rhetoric: the world over, forests are home to a diverse range of medicinal plants, contributing to healthcare and income generation. They provide food, household equipment, and other essential products, and play a vital role in carbon storage, helping to mitigate climate change, support biodiversity, ensure regional water and food security, and preserve seascape biodiversity. Seen for what they truly are, namely a treasure trove of national wealth contributing significantly to the country’s economy and ecosystem, and approached with the right vision, Nigeria’s vast forests would be much more resilient money spinners, not terrorist enclaves. They provide timber, fuelwood, furniture, and building materials, contributing about 2.5 percent to the country’s GDP and employing over five million people. Imagine if they were rid of the terrorists currently curtailing their full potential.

For a long time now, outlaws exploiting governmental inaction or diffidence have turned Nigeria’s forests into death zones. Often, there has been a discernible subtext of complicity and sabotage among security agents, even as foreign criminals strip the forests bare. And worse still, there have sometimes been terrible signals from, of all places, the State House. For instance, as Ondo State governor, the late Rotimi Akeredolu faced stiff resistance from the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government in his bid to rid the state’s forests of terrorists. This kind of thing should never, ever happen again.

 If the government effectively contains the ills that plague Nigeria’s forests through the latest initiative, it will save the country a lot of trouble. In this regard, limiting the initial deployment to the northern part of the country in the name of “frontline states” seems very strange. But more importantly, the government has to summon every resource at its disposal and ensure that state policing becomes operational in the country this year. There is no way to secure Nigeria without it. With federal and state policing, forest guards would be better positioned to actualise their mandate. In the meantime, they should go all out and contain the threats emanating from the forests.