This is contained in a statement issued by the Centre’s Executive Director, Mr Chuka Okoye, and made available to newsmen in Aba on Saturday.
Okoye said the initiative represents a pragmatic step towards addressing the pervasive threat of insecurity festering within the nation’s forest belts.
“By official disclosures, each state is expected to engage between 2,000 and 5,000 operatives, under the supervision and regulatory framework of the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Federal Ministry of Environment.
“The objectives of this initiative are to secure Nigeria’s 1,129 forest reserves and to deter criminal elements using these forests as operational sanctuaries,” he said.
According to the statement, the centre urged state governments to domesticate the initiative without further delay.
“We urge the governors of the South-East geopolitical zone comprising Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo, to immediately domesticate and operationalise this Federal Government initiative.
“The persistent menace of violent non-state actors and unknown gunmen who have turned our forests into theatres of terror and bloodshed, must be decisively addressed,” Okoye advised.
He urged state governments to liaise with community leaders, traditional institutions, and civil society groups to identify individuals of proven integrity, passion, and security consciousness for the recruitment process.
Okoye stated that special emphasis should be placed on enlisting local hunters and forest dwellers, as they possess both indigenous knowledge and a practical understanding of the terrain.
He cautioned against treating the security intervention as a political patronage opportunity or as a mechanism for economic advancement.
He stressed that it should be viewed as a vocational calling for individuals who demonstrate a sincere commitment to community protection and regard the role as a sacred duty to the nation.
“A proactive, intelligence-led, and terrain-sensitive security architecture is indispensable. The time to act is now,” Okoye said. (NAN)
