The Federal Government has graduated over 7,000 newly recruited forest guards from seven frontline states, with immediate deployment ordered to bolster internal security and reclaim Nigeria's forests from criminal elements. The initiative follows a three-month intensive training program under the Presidential Forest Guards Initiative launched in May 2025 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
On December 27, 2025, graduation ceremonies took place across the states of Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Niger, Kwara, and Kebbi.
The initiative, coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), aims to deny terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and other criminal groups access to forested and hard-to-reach areas used as hideouts.
The training was deliberately rigorous, incorporating environmental conservation principles with advanced security skills, including physical and mental conditioning, long-range patrol simulations, tactical fieldcraft, ambush response drills, and rescue operations.
Addressing participants at the ceremonies, National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu described the guards as 'not just uniformed personnel. They are first responders, community protectors, and a critical layer of Nigeria’s security architecture.'
He confirmed immediate deployment, emphasizing no administrative gap: 'There will be no delay between graduation and deployment. Salaries and allowances will commence immediately, and every certified guard will proceed directly to assigned duty posts.'
The program achieved a 98.2 percent completion rate, with 81 trainees disqualified for disciplinary reasons and two others dying from pre-existing medical conditions.
The guards are indigenous to their local government areas, enhancing terrain familiarity, intelligence gathering, and community trust in combating banditry, kidnapping, and illegal forest exploitation.
It is an inter-agency effort led by ONSA in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment, operationally coordinated by the Department of State Services and National Park Service, with input from the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police Force, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Governors and deputy governors from the states attended, including Kwara's AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Yobe's Mai Mala Buni.
Ribadu reaffirmed the government's resolve to expand the program nationwide: 'By protecting our forests, we are securing our territory. And by securing our territory, we are protecting our people.'
