The Federal Government is preparing to deploy 7,000 forest guards across seven pilot states.
The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, revealed this on Saturday in Yola, Adamawa State, during the graduation ceremony of guards who had undergone training.
“We are fully aware of Nigerians’ concerns about insecurity across the country. Accordingly, the newly trained Forest Guards will be deployed immediately to all the beleaguered communities in the highlighted states, particularly around forested and ungoverned spaces,” the NSA stated.
He explained that the guards will be responsible for gathering actionable human intelligence, supporting ongoing security operations, and restoring government presence in locations where state structures have been absent for long periods.
“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,” he added.
The guards reached graduation level after completing an intensive three-month training exercise in the pilot states of Adamawa, Borno, Kwara, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Yobe.
The NSA noted that the trainees were mobilised under the Presidential Forest Guards initiative, introduced by President Bola Tinubu in May this year as a collaborative effort between federal and state governments.
Training instructors and programme coordinators were drawn from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the National Park Service, and the National Intelligence Agency.
The core mandate of the Forest Guards is to confront bandits, insurgents, terrorists, and other criminal groups operating within Nigeria’s vast, ungoverned forest regions.
According to the NSA, the pilot rollout serves as a foundation for wider national deployment once additional guards are recruited.
“As we speak, processes have commenced to train new batches across additional states, ensuring rapid expansion and comprehensive national coverage,” the NSA disclosed.
In his remarks, the Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, urged the guards to view their assignment as a public service duty and to treat residents with civility while carrying out their operations.
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