The Federal Government has declared that terrorists and criminal elements will no longer find refuge in Nigeria’s forests.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made the statement on Monday in Abuja during an end of the year press briefing, while addressing the Federal Government’s efforts to tackle insecurity.
Speaking on planned security measures for 2025, the minister highlighted the President’s declaration of a nationwide security emergency, which he said would lead to significant recruitment into the Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force.
“In the area of security in 2025, we saw the presidential declaration of a nationwide security emergency that will in the months ahead translate into massive recruitment into the Armed Forces and the Police Force.
“This also includes the deployment of trained and equipped forest guards will be deployed to secure our forests and other vulnerable locations.
“What we used to have in the past is that there are dark forces within our forest that are largely unmanned and have created a safe haven for these terrorists and bandits.
“With this kind of recruitment and this declaration by Mr president, there will be no hiding place for terrorists and criminals in our forests,” he said.
Idris emphasized that the new measures are aimed at eliminating ungoverned spaces and denying criminal groups the ability to operate freely within forested and hard to reach areas across the country.
