The Federal Government is set to deploy 7,000 newly trained forest guards to seven pilot states as part of efforts to curb insecurity and reclaim ungoverned forest spaces across the country.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, disclosed this on Saturday in Yola, Adamawa State, during the graduation ceremony of the forest guards after a three-month intensive training programme. He said the guards would be deployed immediately to vulnerable communities, particularly those around forested and ungoverned areas.
Ribadu said the initiative was a direct response to widespread public concern over insecurity, noting that the guards are expected to gather actionable human intelligence, support ongoing security operations, and restore state presence in areas long exploited by criminal elements.
According to him, the trainees underwent rigorous physical and mental conditioning, including endurance drills, obstacle-crossing exercises and long-range patrol simulations, to prepare them for sustained forest operations.
The forest guards were trained under the Presidential Forest Guards Initiative launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in May as a joint federal and state government effort. The pilot phase covers Adamawa, Borno, Kwara, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto and Yobe states.
Ribadu said instructors and coordinators for the programme were drawn from multiple security and intelligence agencies, including the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Department of State Services, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Park Service and the National Intelligence Agency.
He explained that the core mandate of the forest guards is to combat banditry, insurgency, terrorism and other criminal activities thriving within Nigeria’s vast forest corridors. He added that the pilot rollout provides a strong foundation for nationwide deployment.
“As we speak, processes have commenced to train new batches across additional states to ensure rapid expansion and comprehensive national coverage,” the NSA said.
In his remarks, Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, urged the forest guards to view their assignment as a call to service, advising them to carry out their duties with professionalism and civility in their interactions with local communities.
