FG, states delay 130,000 forest guards’ recruitment amid rising killings

Tinubu

The renewed national forest policing initiative launched by the Federal Government in May is receiving a slow response from several states, Sunday PUNCH investigation has revealed.

This comes despite a surge in deadly attacks by terrorists, bandits, and Fulani militias, which have claimed hundreds of lives across the country in the past two months.

President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of the National Forest Guard system on May 15 as part of efforts to tackle the worsening insecurity across Nigeria.

According to a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, the president made the announcement during an expanded Federal Executive Council meeting.

He mandated each state to recruit between 2,000 and 5,000 forest guards based on their capacity.

A rough estimate of about 3,500 recruits per state would result in the recruitment of at least 130,000 forest guards across the states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Findings by Sunday PUNCH showed that prior to Tinubu’s announcement in May, at least 11 states already had operationalised forest guards, also known as forest rangers or forest security, but were yet to arm and upscale them for national security efforts.

The moves, it was gathered, followed Tinubu’s meeting with the governors in February 2024, where the Federal Government and the states agreed to recruit the forest rangers and invest in more training, according to the Information Minister, Mohammed Idris.

Deadly attacks, unmanned forest

Nigeria has over 1,129 forest reserves, making it one of the African countries with a large number of gazetted forest areas.

These reserves vary in size and management, and most are under the control of state governments, though a few fall under federal jurisdiction, especially those within national parks or designated biosphere reserves.

Many of the reserves, however, face significant threats from illegal logging, encroachment for farming, infrastructure development and, recently, security challenges, as some now serve as criminal hideouts.

Since May, when Tinubu ordered the recruitment of forest guards, northern Nigeria and some other parts of the country have witnessed several deadly attacks.

Sunday PUNCH investigation revealed that no fewer than 700 people were killed in the various attacks carried out by terror groups, including Boko Haram, bandits, Fulani militias, Islamic State’s West Africa Province, and Lukarawa.

On May 17, at least 23 farmers and fishermen were killed and others abducted by suspected Islamist militants in Malam Karanti village in Kukawa local government area of Borno State.

Benue and Plateau States witnessed the highest deadly attacks in June.

Between June 8 and 14, suspected Fulani militia launched several attacks on Benue villages, killing more than 300 people and displacing several others.

On June 13, gunmen attacked Yelewata and Daudu communities in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, killing over 100 people, including five security personnel and internally displaced persons, as well women and children.

Confirming the attacks, the National Emergency Management Agency said, “Dozens of people sustained injuries, and 46 individuals were rushed to hospitals. Sadly, 20 of them later died due to the severity of the injuries they sustained.”

According to Amnesty International, 3,941 persons were displaced by the attacks.

In the wake of the attacks, President Tinubu visited survivors of the attacks and directed the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, to immediately arrest killer herders who perpetrated the attacks.

On June 21, gunmen, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, also attacked Bokkos and Mangu Local Government Areas of Plateau State, killing 19 people.

A few days after the attack, terrorists killed at least 17 soldiers when they attacked military bases in Niger and Kaduna states.

Confirming the attacks, the Nigerian Army said the troops were killed during separate attacks on its military bases of Kwanar Dutse Mairiga, Boka, Niger State, and Aungwan Turai Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna.

The country has also witnessed a resurgence of the use of Improvised Explosive Devices by Boko Haram terrorists in the past few weeks.

On June 22, 12 persons were killed in a suicide bomb explosion in front of a local cinema near Konduga fish market, Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State.

A few days after the suicide bomb attack, a landmine planted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists killed four people and injured 10 others along the Maiduguri-Damboa highway in the state.

To curtail the escalating forest security threats, Tinubu, while speaking at the May FEC meeting, mandated the states to recruit at least 2,000 heavily armed and well-trained forest guards.

The president asked the Office of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Ministry of Environment to supervise the recruitment exercise.

However, over two months after the directive, Sunday PUNCH gathered that the exercise is witnessing systemic delays in some states of the country, while those that have heeded the call haven’t employed the expected quota.

The states yet to begin the process include Kaduna, Ondo, Benue, Kano, Jigawa, Akwa-Ibom and Gombe States, while those that had started the process are Borno, Adamawa, Kwara, Plateau, Niger, Edo, Anambra, Enugu, among others.

Kaduna yet to begin the exercise

Despite having large swathes of forests that served as hideouts for criminal gangs, Kaduna State is yet to begin the recruitment process, according to competent security sources familiar with the matter.

However, a senior security official, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said Governor Uba Sani remains committed to the security and safety of Kaduna residents and is expected to act once all modalities are finalised.

“You know, when it comes to security matters, His Excellency, Governor Uba Sani, takes them very seriously. He’s passionate about ensuring citizens live in peace,” the source said.

According to him, the governor had, from his first day in office on May 29, 2023, prioritised security, particularly in volatile areas such as Birnin-Gwari, which, for years, had been synonymous with banditry, kidnappings, and terror.

The source added that the governor would not hesitate to embrace any initiative that aligned with its goal of safeguarding lives and property.

Similarly, the Ondo State Government said it had yet to commence the recruitment process because the Federal Government had not initiated any move for its nationwide take-off.

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Security Matters, Mr Gbenga Atiba, made this known in an interview with Sunday PUNCH.

He said that when the programme takes off properly, the Federal Government would communicate its execution plan to the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

“I’m not sure the recruitment has started because we all just came back from Abuja recently, all security advisers nationwide. We went to have a meeting with the National Security Adviser, so no one state has started. It’s just speculation,” Atiba said.

He noted that the forest guard recruitment idea wasn’t mooted by the states, but by the Federal Government, which is expected to give slots to the sub-nationals.

“It’s the Federal Government’s directive and not the states’ creation. So, it’s the Federal Government that gives the slots.

“We already had a very long meeting with the NSA. The directive will come from Abuja on when to start. But people are just coming up with different things. They have not started the recruitment,” the Aiyedatiwa’s aide said.

Similarly, the Benue State government said it was waiting to get a directive from the NSA before starting the recruitment process.

The commander of the State Forest Security Service, Jov Peter, disclosed this to one of our correspondents on Friday, noting that the state government needed more clarification from the NSA office on the proposed idea.

“Recruitment is yet to start here. We need some clarification, and the state government needs to get clarification from the office of the NSA,” Peter said. Punch