Nigeria to Deploy 130,000-Armed Forest Guards Amid Rising Insecurity
By Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat
(Abuja) Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu’s plan to tackle the rising tide of insurgency by raising an army of 130,000 forest guards is doomed from the start, security experts tell TruthNigeria.
The reason? Not enough dogs in the fight. The goal is too low to achieve overwhelming force in the face of multiple efforts to topple federal authority, the analysts say.
The President has approved the recruitment of more than 130,000 armed forest guards to tackle the growing insecurity across the country, the presidency announced on May 12.
The decision comes in response to a surge in coordinated attacks by Fulani militants in Benue, Plateau, parts of Nasarawa, Niger, and Kwara states, alongside raids by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters in Borno and Yobe states. These violent attacks have left hundreds dead.
130,000 Fighters Not Enough: Experts
Yet, Friday Agbo, Head of Alterconsult, a Northern Think tank based in Kaduna tells TruthNigeria Nigeria that security challenges in the country are so enormous that 130,000 additional fighting forces may not be enough to defeat the array of armed opponents.
The 130,000 new forest guards would support the current Nigerian military force of approximately 230, 000 troops, the largest army in sub-Saharan Africa. That number includes active, reserve and paramilitary forces, according to Global Firepower.
“In the Northeast, Boko Haram may have between 5,000- 15,000 men, and it is recruiting. Islam in West Africa Province (ISWAP) members are about 20,000.
“In the Northwest, we have the Lakurawa group, the Ansaru and many Al Qaeda affiliated groups which could be up to 10,000 or 20,000.”
Agbo further noted that the Northcentral or the Middle Belt has been heavily destabilized by Fulani terrorists from Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Mauritania.
“The Nigerian military is also actively involved in combat operations in the Southeast and in the Niger Delta, which encompasses 8 states.
Agbo says the country needs more than 1 million men in arms to defeat the insurgencies.
“If you must defeat all the insurgents across the country, Nigeria needs more than 1 million soldiers. They will be used to hold territories recaptured from the enemies after using overwhelming force,” according to Agbo.
The plan to surge the size of the forest guards requires all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to recruit between 2,000 and 5,000 forest guards, depending on their capacity.
The deployment aims to target terrorist groups that use Nigeria’s 1,129 forest reserves as hideouts. Bandit-terrorists, insurgents, and kidnappers have long exploited these dense forests to evade security forces.
Complex Array of Enemies of Law and Order
The most lethal threat to persecuted Christians is not a unified insurgency but a criminal phenomenon known as “bandits that began as a small threat in Zamfara State in 2012 but slowly swelled into a regional menace during the first-term administration of President Muhammadu Buhari (2016 2019).
The Nigerian army and air force have been fighting for two years to defeat or destroy as many as 30,000 radicalized terrorist bandits holding sway over farming communities in Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara, Niger and Kaduna states.
Why Not Link National Hunters, Forest Guards, and Vigilante Groups?
David O. Idah, Director of the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) Abuja, agrees with Agbo’s recommendation. He points out that Nigeria should combine the National Hunters Security Services and Vigilant Group of Nigeria to amass a combined force of 500,000 men who have combat experience.
Retired Brigadier General Peter Aro adds another caution: that terrorists in Nigeria are now better armed than the military. He was quoted in a story published by Punch on May 7, 2025, saying that insurgents use encrypted communication, drones, GPS-guided explosives, and night-vision gear, while Nigerian troops face modern threats with outdated tools. “This isn’t about panic, it’s about parity,” Aro said, urging urgent funding and tech upgrades.
Nigerian Army Battered by Combat Across the North
Idah explained that the government’s move to recruit forest guards is in response to escalating violence in the Lake Chad area and across the Middle Belt.
ISWAP and Boko Haram through the months of April and May 2025 launched 12 major attacks killing 161 people, most of them civilians. In total, at least 161 people were killed during these attacks.
Idah further explained that more than 81 civilians were gunned down in seven major massacres in Benue and Plateau between February and May 2025, including the killing of more than 40 unarmed civilians in the village of Zike in Bassa County on the day before Easter Sunday.
The Biafra Insurgency in Southeast
According to Agbo, Director, Alterconsult, southeastern Nigeria witnessed a deadly wave of violence between January and May 2025, resulting in at least 50 confirmed deaths linked to clashes between the Nigerian Army and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
In January, eight suspected IPOB/ESN fighters and one soldier were killed during military operations in Anambra State. By May, gunmen suspected to be separatists killed five soldiers and six civilians in Obingwa, Abia State. A separate attack on the Okigwe-Owerri highway in Imo State claimed the lives of at least 30 civilians.
Human rights organizations, including Intersociety, reported a broader pattern of violence and alleged abuses. Between December 2024 and January 2025, more than 180 people were reportedly killed by security agents and non-state actors. Additionally, more than 200 extrajudicial killings were alleged in early 2025.
Growing Threat of Foreign Fighters Crossing Porous Borders
Apart from these attacks, jihadist organizations originating outside Nigeria are gradually moving from the Benin Republic to Nigeria’s Southwest, Northwest and Northeast, according to security sources interviewed by TruthNigeria.
Authorities say foreign jihadist groups from Mali and Burkina Faso have entered Nigeria through porous borders and have taken up residence in the Middle Belt states, including Kwara, Niger and Benue. Recruitment videos from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) use the Fulfulde language of the Fulani tribe, yet languages spoken by JNIM fighters are diverse, including Arabic, Bambara, Songhai and Hausa.
Additionally, foreign Fulani fighters—allegedly invited by local groups—have settled in forested areas across the states of Benue and Plateau. From these strongholds, they have carried out attacks involving killings and kidnappings for ransom.
Similar attacks have also targeted communities in Southern Kaduna, where militants are reportedly trying to displace indigenous residents.
Security officials warn that militants are gradually moving toward Nigeria’s southern coastal states, including Edo, Delta, and Lagos.
To counter these emerging threats, the Federal Government has approved the nationwide recruitment and deployment of forest guards.
Presidential spokesman Sunday Dare said the recruitment and training will be jointly managed by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Federal Ministry of Environment.
Time will tell whether the surge will turn the tide against mounting attacks on majority-Christian communities in the Middle Belt suffering what has been called a Christian genocide.
Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria
