Insecurity: Government to deploy 130,000 new forest guards nationwide

President Bola Tinubu has authorised the creation of a national forest guard system and directed the hiring of more than 130,000 armed personnel to protect Nigeria’s 1,129 forest reserves in an effort to reduce the country’s growing levels of insecurity.

Approved at the expanded Federal Executive Council meeting on Monday, the initiative requires each state to hire 2,000 to 5,000 forest guards, depending on their capacity.

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The recruiting and training phase will be supervised by the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Ministry of Environment.

Including those for the Federal Capital Territory, an approximate estimate of 3,500 recruits per state equals more than 130,000 new forest guards. Depending on its financial capabilities, each state is anticipated to hire between 2,000 and 5,000 highly skilled and armed forest guards.

According to reports, at least 130,000 forest guards would be recruited throughout the states and the Federal Capital Territory, assuming an approximate number of 3,500 recruits per state.

This was revealed in a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, on his X handle, entitled: “Forest Guards Established by Federal Government,” on Wednesday.

During a recent trip to Katsina State, the president speaking on the rising insecurity challenge declared that the nation would reclaim its forests and warned that his administration would not cede even a small portion of the country to criminal gangs, terrorists, and bandits that operate inside the forests.