Commander General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), Joshua Wole Osatimehin
The Commander General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), Joshua Wole Osatimehin, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently sign the NFSS Establishment Bill into law, saying the delay has dampened morale among its personnel and weakened forest security operations nationwide.
Speaking with a team of journalists in Abuja on Monday, Osatimehin said the NFSS, which evolved from the community-based hunter association established in 2016, was created to fill a critical gap in Nigeria’s security structure by focusing on intelligence and surveillance within the nation’s forests.
“All the security apparatus of our country are domiciled within the cities,” he said.
“But no one is saddled with the responsibility of guarding local intelligence within our forests. That is what motivated us.”
According to him, the organization has achieved remarkable results despite the absence of official recognition. Over 48,000 NFSS operatives are spread across all 36 states and the FCT, working in collaboration with the Police, Civil Defence, and NDLEA.
“Eighty percent of crimes committed in Nigeria are under the influence of drugs,” Osatimehin noted.
“We are helping NDLEA to curb the movement of illicit drugs through the forest corridors.”
He highlighted several partnerships with state governments, including the deployment of 850 personnel in Bauchi, 1,000 in Borno, and over 1,000 in Kogi. Similar arrangements exist in Benue, Lagos, Oyo, and Ebonyi States, where the NFSS helps to protect farms, border areas, and forest reserves.
“In Oyo, Governor Seyi Makinde even provided motorcycles for our local commanders,” he added.
However, Osatimehin lamented that the lack of federal recognition has left many officers demoralized.
“We have been doing this job on our own since 2016,” he said.
“Some of us have families, yet there are no salaries. Sometimes we even face harassment from the police who call us a quasi group. All we ask is for the government to give legal backing to our service.”
He confirmed that the NFSS Establishment Bill has passed through both chambers of the National Assembly, with overwhelming public support.
“Out of 103 memoranda submitted to the Senate, 102 supported the establishment of this organization,” he disclosed. “We are only waiting for the President’s assent.”
On the state of Nigeria’s forests, the CG painted a grim picture, describing them as “safe havens for criminals.”
He warned that the fall of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi unleashed thousands of mercenaries across the Sahel, many of whom have infiltrated Nigeria’s porous forest borders. “Eighty percent of these mercenaries are in Nigeria today,” he cautioned.
Osatimehin urged the federal government to follow Kenya’s example by establishing a well-equipped forest security corps to combat banditry and environmental crimes.
“Kenya rescued itself from repeated attacks by empowering forest security services,” he said. “Nigeria must do the same.”
He stressed that NFSS is not a rival to existing security agencies but a complementary force.
“We are not coming to take over anyone’s job,” he said.
“We are here to provide grassroots intelligence and protect Nigeria’s forests, the hiding place of criminals and the lungs of our ecosystem.”
