Two months after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the establishment of forest guards, implementation is yet to take off.

In May 2025, President Tinubu approved the recruitment and deployment of armed forest guards to secure Nigeria?s 1,129 forests from terrorists and criminal gangs. The president directed the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Ministry of Environment to take charge and ensure full implementation.

The Special Adviser, Media and Public Communication to President Bola Tinubu, Sunday Dare, in a statement on May 15, 2025, noted that the Tinubu administration ?would not surrender an inch of the country?s territory to terrorists, bandits and other criminal gangs operating inside the forests.

?The president directed that the forest guards are to be well trained and armed to perform their duties, which is essentially to flush out terrorists and criminal gangs hiding inside the forests for criminal activities. This recruitment is a security collaborative effort between the federal and state governments,? the statement reads in part.

Nigeria boasts of 1,129 forest reserves along with 8 national parks, 4 wildlife sanctuaries and 29 game reserves.

The combined land area of these reserves exceeds 3 million hectares. A sizable percentage, including 1,169 forest reserves, are said to be undermanned, neglected and degraded.

In 1970, Nigeria established the Federal Department of Forestry (FDF) to oversee forestry operations across the country. Its responsibilities include establishing and developing national forest policy and land use planning, promoting forestry and environmental development and overseeing state forestry operations for federally and internationally funded projects and institutional development.

However, due to decades of neglect, these forests have turned into safe havens for criminals, bandits, robbers, kidnappers and other criminals, who use them as bases from which to strike people.

To prevent encroachment on forest reserves and resources, the federal government employed forest guards.

In 2020, a bill to establish ?forest guards? to man the country?s forests and highways passed through second reading in the House of Representatives but never saw the light of day.

Situation in states

Since the creation of the Department of Forestry in 1970 by the federal government, many states have taken steps to establish their forest departments and guards to manage illegality.

Currently, the forest guards initiative takes on different names across the states while not existing in others.

In Kano State, forest guards were recruited after the establishment of the Great Green Wall (GGW) project.

Our correspondent reports that the guards face many operational challenges across the state.

Sources at the state Ministry of Environment and Climate Change told Weekend Trust that the ministry was planning to recruit more forest guards that would be deployed to various places to replace those that abandoned their posts.

In Borno, the guards, under the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NSS) are responsible for escorting and protecting farmers from Boko Haram attacks.

The North-East commandant of the Forest Security Service, Adamu Bulama, said they had not been receiving adequate support from the government.

He said the only government institution that provided them with weapons and logistics support was the military.

?They provide us with weapons for our operations once we put our request to them. They also provided us with 10 motorcycles and one Hilux van for the operation.

?We pleaded with the state government to give us the go-ahead to build an office on the piece of land we are currently occupying, but we are yet to receive their response,? he said.

In Benue State, the fate of forest guards traditionally charged with protecting reserves from encroachment, illegal logging and deforestation remains dim.

Our correspondent reports that forests across all the 23 local government areas of the state seem to have become havens for non-state actors, as guards who are supposed to man the areas are grossly inadequate.

The state government refers to these guards as Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs).

Kelas Onum, an information officer at the Ministry of Water Resources, Environment and Climate Change, told our correspondent in Markudi that the DFOs remain operational and are stationed in all the 23 local government areas of the state.

However, Onum admitted that the DFOs are overwhelmed by numerous challenges, including illegal lumbering, tree felling and a severe shortage of manpower.

?In many local government areas we have just one or two officers. Despite that, they are still effective and committed,? he said.

Comrade Onjeh Enewa, the director of forestry in the ministry, said the state lacked adequate personnel to cover the expansive forest areas.

Enewa, however, expressed optimism over the federal government?s plan to revive the forest guard initiative as proposed by President Tinubu.

?When the president mentioned reintroducing the forest guard system, we were happy. We are eagerly waiting for the employment to begin so that we can fill vacancies in our ministry,? she said.

While some states have incorporated the guards as government staffers, the Bayelsa State Forest Security Service is working voluntarily to ensure the safety of the forests in the state.

Our correspondent reports that most times their personnel paid the supreme prize during encounters with criminals in the forests.

Governor Douye Diri had during the 2021 Environment Day hinted at the plan to form forest guards in the state to be called ?Bayelsa State Environmental Vanguard? to check deforestation and other environmental infractions, but it is yet to be since then.

Unlike Bayelsa, Weekend Trust gathered that forest guards are fully in operation in Ekiti State. The state has set up a forestry commission for the guards to be able to checkmate criminal activities in all the three senatorial districts.

Our correspondent also reports that the state forest guards are on government payroll, receiving minimum wage as other civil servants do.

In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), our correspondent reports that the forest guards gave way to the Nigerian Forest Security Services (NFSC) across the six area councils.

The FCT commandant of the Nigerian Forest Security Services (NFSC), Mr. Bawa Kyauta, while speaking with our correspondent, said the service, which focuses on protecting forests, was established to complement the efforts of the security agencies to combat crime and tackle ungoverned areas like forests and bush-lands.

?The truth is that the Nigerian Forest Security Service almost does the work of the forest guards, and that is why you don?t hear much about the forest guards again, except that the service is yet to be fully implemented after its approval by the president,? he said.

Crime, illegality in forests

With the resurgence of banditry and kidnapping activities across most of the states, there has been a renewed call for forest guards to man the country?s forests, which serve as havens for criminals.

In Kogi, Benue, Borno, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Taraba, Niger, Zamfara states and the FCT, most of the forests have been providing cover for bandits, kidnappers and other criminals.

In Bauchi, high-profile criminal activities at the famous Burra-Lame forest in Ningi Local Government Area, which connects the mountains in Toro Local Government and the wide Yankari forest and its surrounding forest in Alkaleri Local Government, have put forest guards on edge.

A forest guard at the Burra-Lame forest who doesn?t want his name in print told Weekend Trust that the major challenge facing forest guards is the insecurity that bedevils forests across the state, saying the state government recently provided patrol vehicles and working tools to the rangers to man the forest.

The source explained, ?Forest guards were taken to Bauchi, where they were trained on physical fitness and handling of firearms to discharge their responsibilities effectively. The issue of lack of equipment for optimal services has been addressed to a certain extent because they now have new patrol vehicles and firearms, but when you compare the kind of dangerous weapons these bandits are carrying, you will understand the difference and challenges I am talking about.?

Another forest guard at the Yankari Game Reserve who declined to mention his name because of the guard?s strict policy on talking to the media said the challenges that affected their operations recently were the issues of bandits kidnapping people for ransom.

?Although not long ago, a joint security operation led by the military had killed many of the criminals and destroyed their hideouts surrounding the Yankari Game Reserve and other localities in Alkaleri Local Government Area, but some of the bandits have returned and continued their ugly acts,? the guard said.

In the southern part of the country, kidnappings and other forms of criminality are being fuelled by ungoverned forests. Although southern Nigeria?s forests are not as big as those in the North, they are still sizable enough to allow these groups to elude security personnel and create victim disposal sites.

A forestry guard in Kaduna, Ahmad Hasa, said they were few in number, adding that there is a need to increase the manpower if the government truly wants to protect the forests effectively.

He also said there?s the need to arm them to defend themselves when entering the forest.

?Currently, there are areas within the forest that are no longer accessible although they contain trees useful for timber production. These places are now out of reach due to various challenges.

?Honestly, what is happening in the forest now is disturbing. However, in another sense, it has helped in protecting some wild animals that were frequently hunted, which might have been completely wiped out by now.

?There are people who go into the forest to cut down trees illegally to produce charcoal. This act had become rampant, but due to the current security situation, some areas are no longer accessible to them, which has helped to reduce the destruction,? he said.

Hasa added that the forest guards, who are essentially conservation officials under the Ministry of Environment, are ill-prepared and untrained to handle the mission of fighting terrorism or banditry.

He said, ?Presently, they only carry light weapons meant for deterring wild animals. They lack sophisticated weapons, forest-mapping technology and coordination with agencies like the Nigerian Air Force. They are also not sufficiently motivated financially or otherwise to face violent groups.?

Adamu Bulama, the North-East commandant of the Forest Security Service in Maiduguri, also discussed their difficulties, saying the government has not been providing them with enough assistance.

The situation is the same in the Federal Capital Territory, where Bawa Kyauta, the commandant of the Nigerian Forest Security Services listed lack of equipment and gadgets, as well as funding, as the main issues facing the service.

?In fact, even when the FCT minister, Nyemson Wike, donated vehicles and motorbikes to the vigilantes across the six area councils, no member of our service was given. But I believe that by the time the service is fully implemented, we will be provided with the necessary gadgets,? he said.

On his part, the commandant of the Bayelsa State Forest Security Service, Felix George, told Weekend Trust that his organisation, which is entirely volunteer-run, faces difficult obstacles in protecting the state?s numerous forests and creeks, particularly since criminals are increasingly using the porous nature of the forest to commit crimes.

George also said the Forest Security Services, which for now is the only one on the ground working in the forests in the state, always faced logistics challenges, explaining that if the state government can assist them, they can perform better because they know the terrain and the forests.

?Most times we also apprehend those doing illegal wood logging. We help the Ministry of Environment, but in all these, we sometimes lose our men during encounters with hoodlums when we go for joint operations with the Nigerian Army. Our boys are working in Azuzuma and Oluwasiri forests with the Nigeria Police Force. We are everywhere. All we need is Bayelsa State government?s support to boost the spirit of our men,? he said.

No salary, little stipends

In Kano State, forest guards recruited by the state have since abandoned the site because they have been owed allowances for months.

A forest guard, Mallam Jamilu Auta revealed that at the initial stage they were placed on N10,000 monthly allowances as casual workers and the amount was increased to N15,000. But when the allowances stopped coming, many of them abandoned their posts and sought other means of sustenance.

It was gathered that in April 2025, the Kano State Executive Council had approved the settlement of 11 months? outstanding allowances for 100 forest guards in the state. It was also reported that the council, at a meeting presided over by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, had authorised the payment of the outstanding salaries of the guards to the tune of N11 million to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

The state Executive Council had also approved a 100 per cent upward review of monthly allowances for forest guards under the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, but it has not happened.

Also, although the guards in Kaduna are paid monthly, the payment is considered small.

Ahmad Hasa said they were paid N60,000 monthly, but if the stipends are increased they would be more motivated.

Another forest guard, Mohmoud Kabir, told Weekend Trust that there was a need to increase their salaries considering the risks associated with the job.

In the case of the FCT, Mr. Bawa Kyauta said the forest service was funded through individual sacrifices without any support from either community leaders, council chairmen or any stakeholder in the territory.

?It is through individual sacrifice that we have been running the service. None of our members is being paid even stipend. Sometimes we get a token from maybe a big man who will engage any of us to guard his farm or property, and at the end of the month, they support such a member with a token, he said.

In Bayelsa, our correspondent gathered that the guards are doing it on a voluntary basis.

?We do everything on our own, even the office we occupy. It is a public-spirited individual that donated it to us. We are confronted with the challenge of finance.

But we believe that one day, the state government would realise our contribution to the safety of our state. President Bola Tinubu has announced the approval of forest guards; and our bill is before him for assent,? he said.

States without forest guards

Weekend Trust also reports that despite vast forests across the country, many of them do not have forest guards, making it easier for criminals to make these places safe havens for their activities.

States like Taraba, Kogi and Nasarawa do not have guards despite the heightened level of banditry and kidnapping.

Our correspondent in Taraba gathered that cases of kidnapping and banditry are becoming rampant in some local government areas due to the presence of these forests.

However, there are forest rangers keeping guard in the Gashaka-Gumti National Park, which covers thousands of kilometres.

The park, which is part of Taraba and Adamawa states, was recently confronted with the activities of tree loggers, illegal miners, poachers and other criminal elements that use it as their operational base.

The conservator-general of the National Park Service, Dr. Goni Ibrahim Musa Goni, said the memorandum of understanding signed between the National Park Service and Africa Nature Investors was of great importance to the development and general security of the Gashaka-Gumti National Park.

The deputy project manager of Africa Nature Investors (ANI), Mr. David Peter, explained that Gashaka Gumti faced intense pressures from a number of illegal activities, including poaching, logging, illegal cattle grazing and artisanal mining.

?As a result, the park?s landscape has been heavily degraded in places. We have found that often, the individuals engaged in illegal activities in the park are also often engaged in kidnapping, banditry and cattle rustling. It is clear that curbing the illegal activities negatively impacting the park would also reduce criminal activities that impact the local communities in Taraba and Adamawa states,? he said.

The National Park Service, however, in responding to the threat posed to the park, has trained and retrained the rangers and equipped them with arms.

Residents of the Niger Delta rainforest in Otakeme and Edumanom forest in Otuoke, all in Ogbia Local Government Area, told Weekend Trust that before now, several illegal activities, such as oil bunkering, kidnapping, wood logging and hunting of endangered species, were going on in the forests but have reduced in the recent past.

A resident around Edumanom forest in Otuoke, Godspower Joseph, told our correspondent that he doesn?t do business in the forest but thinks that government should provide adequate security there because they have been hearing about several crimes being perpetrated in various forests.

?We were told that this Edumanom forest is a reserve. We have many endangered species here, such as chimpanzees and the rest but hunters have been killing them for meat because there are no guards. The government should do something about it.

?The issue of oil bunkering is not done in the community; it is at the pipelines inside forests. The resultant effect is the pollution of our environment, endangering the lives of the people living in the nearby communities. If proper security measures are put in place, our forests will be safe, and it will provide us the natural ambience we are always known for,? he said.

?Forest guards are game changers?

Isaac Abrak, the chairman of Northern Christian Youth Professionals in Kaduna, has been at the forefront of advocating the rehabilitation of forest guards in the country.

According to him, forest guards have the potential to be game changers in the fight against banditry and terrorism because over the years, the Nigerian military has made efforts to dislodge terrorists and bandits from forests, but after operations they often return to their barracks, leaving the forests ungoverned. These unoccupied spaces are quickly reoccupied by criminal elements.

?If forest guards are properly rehabilitated and deployed, especially in flashpoints like Kaduna?s Birnin Gwari, we can establish a permanent local presence.

?Traditional rulers, for instance, the Emir of Birnin Gwari, can work with their district heads to recommend credible youths from their communities. These youths, once trained and armed, would know the terrain better and could secure it effectively, ensuring that the criminals don?t return,? he said.

?Initiative on course?

Efforts to get official reaction from ONSA proved abortive as several calls to the Director, Strategic Communications at National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Micheal Abu depicted ?switched off?.

But a senior official at the NCTC-ONSA, speaking with the Weekend Trust, anonymously, explained that some States already have existing forest guards in their respective domains, but noted that the Federal Ministry of Environment had since May swung into action of recruiting the guards in collaboration with the States for those that do not have existing ones.

The source said the ONSA would come in when the Department of State Services and other security forces are ready to train the recruited guards, particularly on intelligence gathering.

?What I know is that some officials of the Federal Ministry of Environment recently went to Benue State for the recruitment purpose. I don?t think that involves ONSA.

?Where ONSA will come in is in the area of coordinating all the security forces including the DSS to train the guards especially on intelligence gathering,? the official informed one of our correspondents. (Weekend Trust)

Update news