As Nigeria continues to search for solutions for the pervasive insecurity in the country, the Nigerian authorities plan on deploying forest guards to fight the hundreds of bandit gangs that have sheltered for years in Nigerian forest reserves.
Last month, the North Central Youth Security Forum (NCYSF), a socio-political organization in the Middle Belt, said more hands are needed to effectively fight the growing banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and other crimes in the country.
The group called on President Tinubu to sign into law the Nigerian Hunters and Forest Security Service (NHFSS) Bill, which empowers forest guards to protect locals without fear of arrest by police afterwards.
Tinubu’s spokesman Bayo Onanuga said at a press interview on Monday night that the Nigerian President is “very much concerned about the problems of insecurity” and wants to end it with forest guards and coastal guards.
“Everybody knows that those people are kidnapping our people, the bandits and so on. They use the forest that we have as a refuge. And the only way we can destroy them is to have people who are well-armed to counter them, the forest guards is in his (Tinubu’s) plan. He wants to do it,” Onanuga said.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
