The Federal Government has been advised to recruit personnel from voluntary paramilitary organizations such as the Boys Scouts, Boys Brigade, and Man O’ War among others to strengthen the nation’s security architecture.
The Deputy Commandant of Training, Operations and Rescue, Man O’ War, Kwara State Command, Nasiru Yusuf Ali, made the call at the Kwara State Security Summit held in Ilorin at the weekend.
The event was under the auspices of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), to address the growing insecurity in the state and seek stronger collaboration among security agencies, government institutions, and local stakeholders.
Ali who is also the Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) in the state, said proper recruitment was key to solving the country’s security challenges.
He stressed that many people currently serving in security agencies joined not out of passion or commitment but the need for employment.
‘Most people who are employed into security agencies are not driven by interest in that particular service but because they need a job after graduation. Proper recruitment is one of the basic solutions to the security challenges we are facing,’ he said.
He said the federal government should consider drawing from voluntary uniformed organizations whose members already possess discipline, community service experience, and dedication to national duty.
‘About four weeks ago, we lost one of our Man O’ War members to bandits in Isin Local Government Area. He volunteered to assist local hunters in confronting the criminals inside the forest. His corpse was discovered two days later. That shows the level of sacrifice our members are willing to make,’ he said.
In his remarks, the state Commander of the NFSS, Oyewole Nasirudeen, appealed to both the federal and state governments for full legal recognition and logistical support to boost its operations in protecting forests and combating criminal activities across the state.
He said the organization is mandated to secure forested regions across the country and assist formal agencies in intelligence gathering.
‘You will agree with me that at this moment, there is no comfort space or safety zone for anyone in the state. That is why we are calling on the Governor of Kwara State to be more proactive in supporting local intelligence and surveillance efforts,’ he said.
The NFSS Commander noted that the agency had yet to benefit from state security interventions despite its significant role in forest surveillance and intelligence work.
He appealed to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to provide working tools and logistics to improve the organization’s efficiency, adding that foresters are more familiar with the terrain and can easily identify criminal hideouts.
The Commander disclosed that the NFSS has operational units across all 16 local government areas of the state, with more than 3,200 personnel working closely with other security agencies to monitor forest routes and prevent criminal infiltration.
For his part, the service Assistant Commander General, North Central, Abdulhakeem Adeyemi Ibrahim, explained that NFSS was not competing with existing security agencies but complementing their efforts.
‘Police cannot do without us, and we cannot do without the police. Our operatives are risking their lives to assist formal agencies’, he said.
He further sought collaboration with traditional rulers, urging them to provide office spaces and logistical support for NFSS personnel at the grassroots to enhance coordination with the Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps among others.
Representing the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, ACP Onyeabor Oseloka, thanked the NFSS for its dedication but advised the organization to prioritise professional training and capacity building.
‘As a paramilitary organization, you must understand security architecture, weapon handling, and local intelligence gathering to work effectively with communities,’ Oseloka said.
The summit was attended by immigration, traditional rulers, youth groups, and other stakeholders.
President Bola Tinubu, in May, approved the establishment of forest guards coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Federal Ministry of Environment.
The initiative is to protect forests and ungoverned spaces in the country which had turned to hideouts for bandits and other criminal groups.