Forest Guards: Nigeria’s Bold Security Gamble Amid Accountability Gaps

by Babafemi Ojodu

President Bola Tinubu greenlit the National Forest Guard system during a Federal Executive Council meeting on May 14, 2025, mandating states to recruit 2,000 to 5,000 guards each for over 130,000 total operatives nationwide.​ The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), alongside the Ministry of Environment, oversees recruitment and training as a federal-state security collaboration.​ Recent graduation of 7,000 guards from seven frontline states—Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Niger, Kwara, and Kebbi—marks the first phase, with immediate deployment ordered on December 27, 2025.​

Recruitment and Training Details

Recruits, indigenous to their deployment areas for local knowledge, underwent a rigorous three-month program combining environmental conservation, physical endurance, tactical drills like ambush response and patrols, and ethics training on human rights, civilian protection, and use-of-force protocols.​ The curriculum drew input from the military, police, NSCDC, and DSS, achieving a 98.2% completion rate despite 81 disqualifications and two medical fatalities.​ Guards are armed per a joint Arms Management Manual, though specifics on weapons sourcing remain undisclosed.​

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Command, Deployment, and Operations

ONSA provides strategic leadership, with operational coordination by DSS and National Park Service, ensuring alignment across security agencies.​ Deployment targets forests in the seven states, supporting intelligence gathering and denying criminals sanctuary, with salaries starting immediately.​ Governors like Kwara’s AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq attended graduations, signaling state buy-in, but full nationwide rollout awaits further phases.​

Critical Gaps in Oversight and Funding

While noble, the initiative lacks public details on legislative oversight, citizen complaint mechanisms, or ethnic profiling safeguards, raising risks of abuse in Nigeria’s crowded security landscape.​ Funding sources and budgets are unspecified, with warnings of politicization or shortfalls that could foster corruption, echoing issues in bodies like the Federal Road Safety Corps.​ Proposed mitigations include ring-fenced budgets and joint oversight committees to enforce accountability.

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Why Scrutiny Matters Now

Nigeria’s history shows ad-hoc forces can morph into threats without ironclad structures—recruitment transparency, clear rules of engagement, and civilian checks are essential.​ Answering these gaps publicly would build trust, as NSA Nuhu Ribadu emphasized guards as “community protectors.” Transparent governance ensures this innovation secures forests without unleashing ungoverned power.​