FG Expands Forest Guards Initiative to 10 States, Trains Over 9,000 Personnel

The Federal Government has expanded the Presidential Forest Guards Initiative to 10 states, with more than 9,000 personnel trained to strengthen security in forests and remote communities used by kidnappers, bandits and other criminal groups.

The Office of the National Security Adviser disclosed on Friday that the latest phase covers Kaduna, Edo and Kogi states, where over 2,000 forest guards have completed training and will soon be deployed to identified security flashpoints.

The programme is coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser under the operational leadership of the Department of State Services, with support from the National Intelligence Agency, Defence Headquarters, the Nigeria Police Force and the National Park Service.

According to the statement, the initiative is being implemented in collaboration with participating state governments to improve security in forests, border communities and other ungoverned spaces exploited by criminal elements.

The latest deployment follows the graduation of more than 7,000 forest guards from Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Niger, Kwara and Kebbi states.

Many of the recruits were drawn from communities heavily affected by insecurity because of their knowledge of forests, remote settlements and local routes. They underwent screening, security vetting and specialised training in arms handling, navigation, patrol operations, intelligence gathering and forest protection.

The government said the initiative is expected to improve surveillance, intelligence sharing and early-warning systems while denying criminal groups safe havens in forests.

Governors of Kaduna, Edo and Kogi states pledged to support the welfare, deployment and operations of the trained personnel in their respective states.