Kwara governor threatens bandits as armed forest guards complete training
Forest guards numbering around 1,000 graduated from training with a passing-out parade in Kwara State on Saturday, and now await deployment to curtail activities of terrorists, kidnappers and illegal miners, among others.
Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, called the initiative a game changer which he said would leave the terrorists and kidnappers with the option of either leaving the state or paying a heavy prize.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for “thinking out of the box” to repossess Nigeria’s forest resources, expel all the bad faith actors occupying the forests and strengthen public safety.
AbdulRazaq also thanked the security forces for their commitment to protect lives, saying a synergy with the new auxiliary force drawn from local communities would strengthen the campaign to fight terrorists and kidnappers.
“Today opens a new page in our campaign against all forms of terrorism, kidnapping and opportunist attacks on our people by bad faith actors who exploit our vast territories for evil purposes,” he said.
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The event was attended by all the security commanders in the state, cabinet members, local government council chairpersons, traditional rulers, and heads of federal and state agencies and tertiary institutions.
“The enlistment of armed forest guards to complement the patriotic efforts of our security forces is a game changer in this campaign. It shows very clearly that the government is committed to the mission of ridding our country of all forms of terrorism, banditry, and kidnappings,” the governor said, “And the message is very clear: more than ever before, the terrorists now have the option of immediately leaving our state or paying a heavy price.
“Today’s launch of the forest guards simply means that we are going on the offensive because our people deserve their peace as freeborns. We have had enough! Anyone who thinks or acts otherwise is our enemy who will not be spared.
“Distinguished forest guards, you are embarking on a national assignment to protect our people from all criminals in our forests. Working with gallant officers and personnel of the security forces, you are to go all out to flush out the terrorists, restore sanity in our forests, and keep our communities safer than they ever were.
“I urge the people of Kwara State to work with the security forces and the forest guards to flush out the terrorists and make our state uninhabitable for them.
The national security adviser, Mal. Nuhu Ribadu, represented by an assistant director-general of the DSS, Femi Shotayo, said the forest guards would be deployed immediately to threatened communities in the pilot states, particularly around forested and ungoverned spaces.
Ribadu said the initiative was a joint effort between the federal and state governments, listing the pilot states to include Adamawa, Borno, Kwara, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto and Yobe.