The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), has announced the graduation of over 7,000 forest guards drawn from seven states across the country.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Saturday by Rabiu Ibrahim, Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, titled “FG Graduates Over 7,000 Forest Guards, Set for Immediate Deployment.”
The development followed the successful completion of an intensive three-month training programme under the Presidential Forest Guards Initiative launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in May 2025.
According to the statement, the initiative is a coordinated federal–state security intervention targeted at “reclaiming Nigeria’s forests from criminal exploitation.”
Graduation ceremonies were held on 27 December 2025 across Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Niger, Kwara, and Kebbi states.
“The programme is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s internal security architecture by denying terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and other criminal groups sanctuary within forested and hard-to-reach terrains.
“The training programme was deliberately intensive, structured, and demanding, aimed at transforming loyal and committed Nigerians into agile, disciplined, and capable field operatives,” the statement partly read.
The curriculum focused on human rights, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), gender rights, and the protection of civilians, while arms handling and use-of-force protocols were strictly regulated in line with an Arms Management Manual jointly agreed upon by all participating agencies.
Commenting on the development, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, disclosed that the guards will hold ground, gather intelligence, and support security agencies in reclaiming territories previously overtaken by criminal elements.
The NSA said deployment is already underway, as the graduands are to proceed to their assigned duty posts.
“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,” he stated.
“By protecting our forests, we are securing our territory. And by securing our territory, we are protecting our people. The Federal Government will not relent. This initiative will expand nationwide as part of our sustained effort to build a safer and more secure Nigeria,” Ribadu added.
Trainees, according to the statement, underwent extensive physical and mental conditioning, including endurance exercises, obstacle-crossing drills, and long-range patrol simulations to prepare them for sustained forest operations.
The Nigerian Forest Guard is an inter-agency national security initiative involving the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the National Park Service.
The programme also draws strategic input from the Defence Headquarters, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The development comes days after the Federal Government designated kidnappers and violent armed groups as terrorists, escalating Nigeria’s response to abductions, attacks on farmers, and community violence.
The development comes days after the Federal Government designated kidnappers and violent armed groups as terrorists, escalating Nigeria’s response to abductions, attacks on farmers, and community violence.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, at an end-of-the-year press briefing in Abuja last Monday.
This signalled a shift from treating mass kidnappings and rural attacks as ordinary crimes to confronting them with full counterterrorism measures.
The minister also hinted that the forest guard initiative, once deployed, is intended to close existing security gaps by combining surveillance, local intelligence, and rapid-response capabilities in hard-to-reach areas.