On May 6, 2025, Chibuzor Nkoro, a young professional, was shot dead along the Ngor Okpala Expressway in Imo State, while driving back to Aba, as the killers, said to have escaped into the forest, also abducted other occupants of the car, on whom they demanded ransom.

While the body is in a mortuary in Aba, many innocent citizens are being abducted for ransom and the unlucky ones killed daily by armed hoodlums across the country.

Till date, Plateau and Benue communities are being sacked, herders’ attacks are on the rise, while a seeming second wave of Boko Haram attacks have commenced.

Considering the above, many think that Nigeria’s insecurity issue seems to have defied solutions.

With the spate of deaths, despite promises and claims of victory in the fight against terrorism, many are forced to query the impact of the huge budget on security, particularly the benefit of the Tucano war planes acquired during the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

But in what seems a change of strategy, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is taking the confrontation to the killers in the forests, from where they launch attacks and also hide.

With the recent establishment of the National Forest Guard, the Presidency and some security experts believe that it will curb the escalating insecurity across Nigeria to a large extent.

Bem Hembafan, an Abuja-based security expert, commended the gesture by the president, noting that it means taking the war to the killers in their comfort zone by people who know the forests and are armed to fight.

“It is better to keep trying many strategies than giving up. If the Tucano war planes cannot enter the forests, trained guards can. So, let us support this initiative because my village is sacked as I speak now,” the Benue-born retired Airforce officer said.

Toeing the same line, Issah Aliyu, a lawyer and part-time lecturer at the University of Abuja, expressed excitement over the forest guard initiative, noting that as big machine guns and armoured tanks have not being able to flush out killers that have invaded Nigerian forests, the trained guards, who are also custodians of their forests, can deliver now with the backing of the government, training and arms.

“With the forests guards, our communities will have defenders, who are from within. We will not hear that farmers cannot go to farms because the guards will protect them and no more stories of 50 hoodlums on motorbikes terrorising for hours without being challenged. I hope they will not politicise it,” Aliyu, a Southern Kaduna indigene, said.

Obinna Ichita, former member of Abia State House of Assembly, said that the forest guards initiative is commendable because it will help in curbing the gruesome killings and restore security, especially in local communities.

Considering that the forest guards system will recruit over 130,000 armed operatives to secure the country’s 1,129 forest reserves, while each state is mandated to recruit between 2,000 and 5,000 guards, based on their capacity, Ichita, who represented Aba South State Constituency, noted that the development would swiftly curb insecurity, especially in the South-East geopolitical zone.

“It is my hope and prayer that this intervention by Mr. President and subsequent engagement and coordination with the state governments, will prevent further loss of lives and thus, flush out those foreign elements and their local collaborators, who hide in our forests to kidnap and kill our people,” Ichita, who recently lost a staff member to killers, said.

Despite the commendations, observers doubt the effectiveness of the initiative as many laudable initiatives on the fight against insecurity in the past did not live up to expectations.

“We all saw the joint security initiatives in Plateau, Kaduna and other states, yet the killers unleash terror on innocent people and sack communities till date,” Ameh Ochefu, a senior civil servant, said.

According to him, the government should be sincere with the initiative and not play politics or intervene unnecessarily if it wants results.

“I think, the sincerity of purpose is what matters in the insecurity fight. You cannot pamper killer herdsmen, tag some people repentant Boko Haram, some killers as hunters, even with AK47 gun, and call others elsewhere in the country terrorists. We know the terrorists, those who kill people, sack villages and take their lands. If they can kill, they should also should be killed or has our Constitution been rewritten in the favour of the killers.

“They kill others while their families are safe, they sack villages, while their communities enjoy; the government should allow this forest guards to work and let’s see how the killers will still be invading communities or abducting people on our highways.”

In his opinion, Hembafan said that the recruits should be from the areas and zones the forests they are meant to guard are located, else the objective would be defeated.

“I am a Tiv man, from Ukum. You need people from my area as forest guards for effectiveness. I am happy that the states are mandated to recruit their own guards.

“If the federal government does the recruitment and assigns the recruits to any forest it likes, the objective will be defeated.

“So, the states should take advantage of the initiative to strengthen security and save lives. The order should be shoot on sight any strange face, leave the forests for trees and wild animals,” Hembafan suggested.

On his part, the Abia ex-lawmaker urged the governments to secure the buy-in of the local communities in order to make the guards effective.

To do that, Ichita suggested that robust information dissemination campaign should be activated as most people, especially in the South-East, have strong reservations and apathy towards joining various security agencies in the federation.

The above Is because of the fate of the families of slain security personnel, especially soldiers, whose families are neglected by the authorities as well as allegations, while some intending military recruits fear alleged sabotage in the fight against insecurity by some insiders and collaborators of terrorists across the security agencies.

The experts warned that the forest guards, even if effective, cannot solve all the security challenges, hence the government needs to adopt other working strategies. (BusinessDay)