We are glad to note that the first batch of Forest Guards that President Bola Tinubu highlighted in May 2025 completed their three months of training and had their passing-out parade in seven states – Adamawa, Borno, Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, Sokoto and Yobe – across Nigeria as 2025 was fading into 2026.
We note that the recent air strikes jointly carried out by Nigerian and American military forces against Lakurawa and other ISIS-ISWAP terrorists on Christmas Day 2025 took place, not in urban centres, but in the lairs of the harbingers of death and horror in the thick forests of Sokoto State.
These related actions of bombing of the terrorists and the passing-out parade of the Forest Guards close on the heels of each other are significant because the forests have been safe havens for the motley of terrorists, insurgents and bandits that have been tormenting the people of Nigeria for about 16 long years.
Also, the forests have provided safe houses for two other sets of dangerous criminals, which are urban kidnappers, who sometimes hide their victims in the forests as they negotiate exorbitant ransom payments, and money ritualists, who use the façade of the forests to hide their evil activities.
We are, however, impressed that the training of the Forest Guards include not only arms handling and physical and mental conditioning to prepare them for the hardships of the conditions in the forests, but also tactical field drills, ethics, provisions of International Human Rights law as well as terms of engagement protocols.
According to Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser, whose office has the responsibility to coordinate and deploy the forest security personnel, “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.”
We are of the opinion that these crucial assignments can only be carried out by locals who are indigenous, or at least familiar, with the terrains in which they will operate. Indeed, we are pleased to find out that the Forest Guards will be indigenous to their respective local governments of deployment.
Could the inauguration and deployment of these “indigenous” forest security agents be the first step toward achieving the idea of state police? Indeed, we wonder why implementation of state police appears to be receding day after day, despite the apparent necessity for police decentralisation.
Although we suspect that the hierarchy of the Nigeria Police Force and some elements of the Nigerian political elite do not like the idea of state police, we are optimistic that, in time, the plan will eventually sail through, especially after Forest Guards would have achieved their stated objectives of securing the forests.
We may also add that the deployment of the Forest Guards should be a crucial aspect of securing the farms and mines that are of necessity based in the rural areas that the alien cross-border terrorists have taken over with impunity and disregard for the territorial integrity of Nigeria.
It is hoped that when the Guards take over the forests, the country shall be in a better position to resuscitate agriculture that has almost become a death-trap, which has discouraged even the rural folks from farming, and enlarged the number of unemployed youths in Nigeria.
We are assuming that the Forest Guards that have received training in the use of arms would be allowed to use them lawfully. This approach should eventually nip crimes in the bud and de-escalate the insecurity that has assumed endemic proportions. The New Year’s Eve attacks in Kwara, Plateau and Ondo States suggest that the bandits will not easily give up their evil ways. Therefore, government must intensify efforts at fighting them and protecting the people.
As much as we commend the initial take-off and immediate deployment of the Forest Guards in seven states, we implore other states to speedily contribute their own quota, even as we note that 1,000 men may not be able to adequately perform the onerous responsibilities ahead.
We hope that the numbers of the forest security personnel in each state will be increased beyond the paltry 1,000 men very soon, so that our forests and rural areas can be more secure and safe. We do not think it necessary to stress that the forests and rural areas are integral parts of Nigeria’s national development plans.