Hunters, Vigilantes Fill Security Gaps In Taraba, Kwara, Others

BY Richard Ndoma, Calabar,  Aza Msue and Nonye Ekwenugo, Kaduna; Achor Abimaje, Jos; Attah Anthony, Jalingo; Abdullahi Olesin, Ilorin; Abu Nmodu, Minna

President Bola Tinubu’s recent approval of 1,000 forest guards for Oyo State has raised concerns in several states, with security experts and government officials warning that the figure falls far short of what is required to secure Nigeria’s vast ungoverned forest territories, which now serve as havens for bandits, kidnappers and terrorists.

LEADERSHIP Weekend reports that the concerns stem largely from the scale of insecurity across several states, where vast forested areas and difficult terrain provide cover for armed groups, making it impossible for a single-state allocation to adequately address the broader security burden.

Recent attacks in Kogi and Oyo states and several other parts of the country have further highlighted the growing role of forest corridors in Nigeria’s insecurity crisis, as victims are often abducted and moved through dense, ungoverned forest routes after initial assaults.

In Kogi, as in neighbouring states such as Niger, Kwara, Ekiti, Ogun, and parts of the North-West, security reports have repeatedly shown that armed groups rely on forest networks to evade pursuit, hide victims, and sustain prolonged kidnapping operations, underscoring concerns that insecurity is increasingly anchored in poorly policed forest environments across regional boundaries.

Stakeholders argue that without extending similar forest guard deployments to other high-risk states, the initiative risks.

From Cross River to Kaduna, Plateau, Kwara and Niger states, stakeholders told LEADERSHIP Weekend that while the initiative is a step in the right direction, the scale of insecurity in Nigeria’s forests demands far more personnel, better equipment and stronger collaboration with local security structures.

In Cross River, the chairman of the State Forestry Commission, Dr George Oben’etche, was unequivocal, calling the planned recruitment insufficient.

He argued that even the 300 forest guards already employed by the state are grossly inadequate to police its expansive forest reserves, and warned against waiting for criminals to establish strongholds before taking action.

While stressing that the state’s vast forest reserves require greater security attention to prevent them from becoming safe havens for criminal elements, he said, “The federal government shouldn’t think that because the criminals were yet to begin creating havoc, nothing would happen in our forest.

“For instance, people working at all the mining sites across the states are not indigenes of the state but foreigners. We shouldn’t wait until problems escalate before the federal government begins to search for alternative measures to curb these troubles,” he said.

In his reaction, the Cross River State commandant of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), Commander Joseph Omni Ogburuwa, noted that the state hosts a significant share of Nigeria’s forests yet remains inadequately policed.

He urged the federal government to extend the forest guard initiative to the state, arguing that the NFSS already has more than 2,500 personnel capable of supporting security operations.

He cited recent kidnapping rescues, bandit attacks and cross-border security threats in forest communities as evidence of the growing danger.

Similarly, retired Superintendent of Police Takon Bebia advocated greater involvement by local communities and NFSS personnel.

For his part, security expert and former State Security Adviser Rekpen Bassey blamed poor forest management, illegal mining, porous borders and weak implementation of security policies for rising insecurity in the state’s forest corridors.

He urged governments to properly fund, retrain and deploy forest security personnel to tackle emerging threats.

Bassey advised governments at all levels to be more proactive in addressing insecurity rather than merely making pronouncements.

“Policies are not only made but are to be effectively implemented,” he said, urging the government to retrain, supervise and adequately fund the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), known in Cross River as Forest Guards.

He noted that many of those linked to insecurity in Cross River’s forest reserves are foreigners engaged in mining activities in Uban and the Akamkpa forest axis near the national park.

LEADERSHIP Weekend writes that the concern resonates across other states grappling with insecurity linked to vast forest corridors and difficult terrains.

In Kaduna, retired military officers said forests stretching across Birnin Gwari, Kamuku, Rijana, Kajuru and Chikun remain major bandit enclaves and cannot be effectively secured with the proposed number of guards alone.

They called for continuous recruitment, specialised training and stronger operational coordination among security agencies.

LEADERSHIP Weekend writes that Kaduna State, with vast forests around Birnin Gwari, Kajuru, Kagarko, Chikun, and the Kamuku-Rijana axis, continues to pose security challenges, as bandits exploit difficult terrain and limited access routes to evade security forces.

Governor Uba Sani previously described the Rijana corridor along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway as an epicentre of banditry following major abductions in the area.

Speaking about the federal government’s proposed forest guard initiative, retired military officer Col. Haruna Idris said the planned deployment was inadequate for the scale of insecurity facing forested and hard-to-reach communities.

He stressed that effective forest security requires sustained recruitment, specialised training and continuous reinforcement, as well as stronger coordination among the military, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other security agencies.

“Forest security requires sustained recruitment, structured training and continuous reinforcement rather than a one-off deployment,” he said.

Similarly, Abubakar Adamu Mohammed, a former Chief Security Officer to former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), described the proposed number as insufficient, warning that the workforce alone would not deliver results without proper training and inter-agency collaboration.

“Without adequate capacity building, the deployment of forest guards may not achieve its intended security impact,” he cautioned.

Kaduna set to train 1,000 forest guards

Meanwhile, Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Sule Shu’aibu (SAN), said preparations were underway to train 1,000 forest guards approved for the state.

He attributed the delay to logistical challenges but gave assurance that the exercise would commence shortly, after which the personnel would be deployed to security flashpoints.

“We are going to start training 1,000 forest guards any moment now,” he said.

Plateau State admitted that the figure is inadequate but insisted that the initiative provides a starting point.

Security officials identified several local government areas, including Wase, Kanam, Bassa, Riyom and Bokkos, as vulnerable due to large ungoverned spaces and limited security presence.

The coordinator of Operation Rainbow and special adviser on security to Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, Brig-Gen. Gakji Shipi (retd) stated that the recruitment of the 1,000 forest guards approved for the state had commenced, with applicants already undergoing security screening.

While welcoming the initiative, he admitted the number was inadequate, saying, “Although it is not enough, however, we must start from somewhere.”

On his part,  retired Naval Commander Yilchini Jan Bida stressed the need for improved infrastructure to support security operations, arguing that poor road networks and telecommunications often delay intervention in troubled communities.

“One of the key factors in tackling insecurity is response time. If security agencies cannot access affected areas quickly, lives and property are put at greater risk,” he said.

In Taraba State, the government said it had strengthened security in forests and other hard-to-reach areas by deploying forest guards, hunters, and vigilantes.

The special adviser to Governor Agbu Kefas on Security and Intelligence, Col. J.G. Kwelle (retd), described the federal government’s planned recruitment of 1,000 forest guards as a welcome development, adding that it would enhance surveillance and complement conventional security operations.

“The planned recruitment of forest guards will help cover areas that were previously beyond the reach of conventional security operatives,” he said.

Kwelle disclosed that Taraba had already recruited and trained about 750 forest guards who now work alongside the Taraba Marshals—a security outfit made up of hunters and members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN).

“Together with hunters and vigilante operatives, they complement the efforts of the conventional security agencies in checking the activities of bad boys,” he stated.

In Kwara State, reactions have trailed the federal government’s plan to recruit 1,000 forest guards, as stakeholders warn that vast forest belts in Kwara North and South continue to provide safe havens for bandits, particularly around the Kainji Lake National Park.

Meanwhile, major stakeholders have questioned the proposed forest guards’ capacity to confront heavily armed criminal gangs operating around the Kainji Lake National Park axis and in adjoining forests. Some security experts warn that without modern surveillance technology and proper equipment, the initiative may have a limited impact.

Kwara State Government disclosed that local hunters and vigilante groups had been mobilised across several local government areas and are receiving support to complement security operations in rural communities.

The senator representing Kwara South, Sadiq Umar, said the terrain remains a major security concern, noting that criminal groups exploit the forests as operational bases.

“The vast and difficult terrain of the Kainji Lake National Park, forest reserves, and adjoining ungoverned spaces have continued to provide safe havens and operational bases for criminal elements carrying out attacks within Kwara North and neighbouring states,” he said.

However, a retired police community support officer in the United Kingdom, Taiwo Hanbali AbdulRaheem, warned that the proposed forest guards may lack the capacity to confront heavily armed bandits, urging the adoption of modern surveillance technology.

“What we need is powerful technology that can monitor the bandits… we need powerful drones that will capture all our forests and other strategic areas,” he said.

A retired senior police officer, Ajayi Okasanmi, described the initiative as a positive step but said it should have been implemented earlier, stressing the need for proper planning and welfare structures.

“The government should not just make an announcement; they should put out the plans for the training, the equipping and welfare of those forest guards,” he said.

The senior special assistant to the Kwara State governor on security, Alh Muhideen Aliyu, revealed that local government councils are already integrating hunters and vigilante groups into security operations, with logistical support from the state.

“These teams cover the entire LGA, depending on the level of threat in different communities,” he said.

Significantly, some states have already moved beyond conventional security approaches by deploying community-based forces to protect vulnerable areas.

1,500 forest guards recruited for Niger forests, more to come

In Niger State, authorities said they had already recruited 1,500 forest guards, a figure that is far above the federal government’s approved number, as part of efforts to reclaim forests linked to banditry and terrorism.

Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago explained that the state had 94 forest reserves across its 25 local government areas, with major security concerns concentrated in the Kamuku–Allawa forest corridor linking Shiroro and Rafi LGAs, as well as in the Kainji Lake Game Reserve spanning Agwara and Borgu LGAs along the border with the Benin Republic.

He noted that these forest belts had become strongholds for bandits responsible for attacks in Rafi, Shiroro and Munya LGAs.

Incidents such as the attack on St Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, and the Kasuwan Daji incident, however, were traced to the Kainji Lake Forest Reserve.

Bago disclosed that even before the federal government’s recent directive, the state had already recruited about 1,500 forest guards who were undergoing training, and that more would be engaged in batches.

He described the initiative as part of a broader collaboration to establish a permanent, locally rooted security structure to reclaim forests from criminal elements.

He also indicated that additional personnel would be recruited in phases to strengthen operations across vulnerable forest corridors.

Supporting the initiative, security strategist Dr Yunusa Musa Yebom described the federal government’s plan as timely but stressed the need for a clear policy framework, training, and coordination.

“The forest guards must be recruited and trained with a clear-cut policy framework,” he said, warning that existing security agencies had not adequately secured forest reserves and other ungoverned spaces.

Some Amotekun corps killed in forests

The urgency of the wider security challenge was further highlighted by the South-West security outfit, Amotekun, which disclosed that some of its operatives had been killed in the line of duty while confronting armed criminals in forests and rural communities.

Across the states surveyed, stakeholders maintained that the proposed 1,000 federal forest guards fall far short of what is required.

They insisted that lasting results will depend on a mix of increased workforce, modern surveillance technology and stronger community-based security networks already being deployed in several states.