The Federal Authorities of Nigeria, by means of the Workplace of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), has introduced the commencement of over 7,000 forest guards drawn from seven states throughout the nation.
This was disclosed in a press release issued on Saturday by Rabiu Ibrahim, Particular Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Data and Nationwide Orientation, titled “FG Graduates Over 7,000 Forest Guards, Set for Rapid Deployment.”
The event adopted the profitable completion of an intensive three-month coaching programme beneath the Presidential Forest Guards Initiative launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in Could 2025.
In response to the assertion, the initiative is a coordinated federal–state safety intervention focused at “reclaiming Nigeria’s forests from felony exploitation.”
Commencement ceremonies had been held on 27 December 2025 throughout Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Niger, Kwara, and Kebbi states.
“The programme is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s inner safety structure by denying terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and different felony {groups} sanctuary inside forested and hard-to-reach terrains.
“The coaching programme was intentionally intensive, structured, and demanding, aimed toward remodeling loyal and dedicated Nigerians into agile, disciplined, and succesful subject operatives,” the assertion partly learn.
The curriculum centered on human rights, Worldwide Humanitarian Legislation (IHL), gender rights, and the safety of civilians, whereas arms dealing with and use-of-force protocols had been strictly regulated in keeping with an Arms Administration Guide collectively agreed upon by all taking part companies.
Commenting on the event, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, disclosed that the guards will maintain floor, collect intelligence, and assist safety companies in reclaiming territories beforehand overtaken by felony components.
The NSA stated deployment is already underway, because the graduands are to proceed to their assigned responsibility posts.
“There might be no delay between commencement and deployment. Salaries and allowances will start instantly, and each licensed guard will proceed on to assigned responsibility posts,” he acknowledged.
“By defending our forests, we’re securing our territory. And by securing our territory, we’re defending our folks. The Federal Authorities won’t relent. This initiative will broaden nationwide as a part of our sustained effort to construct a safer and safer Nigeria,” Ribadu added.
Trainees, in accordance with the assertion, underwent intensive bodily and psychological conditioning, together with endurance workout routines, obstacle-crossing drills, and long-range patrol simulations to organize them for sustained forest operations.
The Nigerian Forest Guard is an inter-agency nationwide safety initiative involving the Workplace of the National Security Adviser, the Federal Ministry of Surroundings, the Division of State Providers (DSS), and the Nationwide Park Service.
The programme additionally attracts strategic enter from the Defence Headquarters, the Nigerian Military, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigeria Police Pressure, and the Nigeria Safety and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The event comes days after the Federal Authorities designated kidnappers and violent armed {groups} as terrorists, escalating Nigeria’s response to abductions, assaults on farmers, and neighborhood violence.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Data, Mohammed Idris, at an end-of-the-year press briefing in Abuja final Monday.
This signalled a shift from treating mass kidnappings and rural assaults as abnormal crimes to confronting them with full counterterrorism measures.
The minister additionally hinted that the forest guard initiative, as soon as deployed, is meant to shut current safety gaps by combining surveillance, native intelligence, and rapid-response capabilities in hard-to-reach areas.
