Tinubu Approves 1,000 Forest Guards After Oyo School Abductions

ABUJA — President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate recruitment of 1,000 Forest Guards to strengthen security in forest corridors across the southwest following the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State. Channels Television confirmed the approval on Tuesday.

The Forest Guards will be deployed under a new federal forest security framework that gives them operational authority to patrol designated forest reserves in collaboration with the army, police, and Amotekun Corps. The programme targets the thick forest corridors between Oyo, Osun, Kwara, and Ekiti states that armed groups have been exploiting.

Minister of Environment Balarabe Abbas said the recruitment process will prioritise local knowledge. He said guards drawn from communities closest to the affected forests will bring irreplaceable intelligence about terrain, movement patterns, and the identities of criminal actors.

Why Forest Guards

The Defence Headquarters confirmed last month that JAS terrorists dislodged from the northeast carried out the Oriire school attack. These groups use dense forest cover to move undetected between communities. The Forest Guards program targets precisely that vulnerability.

Security analysts welcomed the decision but said 1,000 guards must be properly trained, equipped, and supervised to be effective. They said a poorly managed program could create armed actors who become part of the problem rather than the solution.

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who has faced mounting pressure including resignation calls over the abductions, welcomed the presidential intervention. He said federal support is critical for a threat that originates from national security operations in other regions.