The Federal Authorities of Nigeria, by 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 Info and Nationwide Orientation, titled “FG Graduates Over 7,000 Forest Guards, Set for Instant Deployment.”
The event adopted the profitable completion of an intensive three-month coaching programme underneath the Presidential Forest Guards Initiative launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in Might 2025.
What FG is saying
In line with the assertion, the initiative is a coordinated federal–state safety intervention focused at “reclaiming Nigeria’s forests from legal 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 legal teams sanctuary inside forested and hard-to-reach terrains.
“The coaching programme was intentionally intensive, structured, and demanding, aimed toward reworking loyal and dedicated Nigerians into agile, disciplined, and succesful area operatives,” the assertion partly learn.
The curriculum centered on human rights, Worldwide Humanitarian Regulation (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 Handbook collectively agreed upon by all collaborating businesses.
Commenting on the event, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, disclosed that the guards will maintain floor, collect intelligence, and help safety businesses in reclaiming territories beforehand overtaken by legal parts.
The NSA stated deployment is already underway, because the graduands are to proceed to their assigned responsibility posts.
“There shall 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 said.
“By defending our forests, we’re securing our territory. And by securing our territory, we’re defending our individuals. The Federal Authorities is not going to relent. This initiative will increase nationwide as a part of our sustained effort to construct a safer and safer Nigeria,” Ribadu added.
Trainees, based on the assertion, underwent in depth bodily and psychological conditioning, together with endurance workout routines, obstacle-crossing drills, and long-range patrol simulations to arrange them for sustained forest operations.
What it’s best to know
The Nigerian Forest Guard is an inter-agency nationwide safety initiative involving the Workplace of the National Security Adviser, the Federal Ministry of Atmosphere, 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 Drive, and the Nigeria Safety and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The event comes days after the Federal Authorities designated kidnappers and violent armed teams as terrorists, escalating Nigeria’s response to abductions, assaults on farmers, and neighborhood violence.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Info, 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 extraordinary 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.