By Amah Alphonsus Amaonye
Director-General, African Writers Centre (AWC)
Nigeria may finally be on the path to defeating terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping and the credit, according to security analysts, will a lot go to the strategic brilliance and uncommon resolve of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu.
“The president gave the directive and the NSA took charge driving an uncommon revolution that will stem the tide of terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, and related criminality in the country by training and deploying officers of the Nigerian Forest Security Service Special Guard,” said a security expert.
In an exclusive interview with AWC, globally recognised peace advocate and intelligence expert, Amb. Dr. John Metchie, declared that the Nigeria Forest Security Service Special Guard Initiative championed by the NSA is “the missing link that Nigeria has waited for… the panacea to recurring insecurity.”
“Ribadu Has Found the Missing Link”: Metchie Praises NSA’s Security Blueprint
Amb. Dr. Metchie, a newly certified Executive Master in Security Management & Leadership from the London College of Management and Leadership Education, said the NSA’s approach reflects the highest form of global security intelligence.
“The gap in Nigeria’s security architecture has always been the absence of a professional forest security system. Ribadu has closed that gap,” he said.
“His deployment strategy is the most robust intervention Nigeria has seen in two decades.”
According to Metchie, who is also DCG Intelligence of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), the NSA has successfully transformed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive on forest guards into a national offensive against criminals hiding in Nigeria’s vast forest belts.
Forest Guards: International Best Practice — Nigeria Finally Joins Global Standards
According to the security expert, countries such as:
Brazil (Amazon Forest Police)
India (Forest Rangers & Jungle Warfare Units)
South Africa (Field Rangers)
United States (U.S. Forest Service Patrol)
have long relied on trained forest guards to combat illegal mining, poaching, terrorism, drug operations, and forest-based militias.
Metchie said Nigeria’s adoption of the same model is long overdue.
“Forests are always a potential breeding ground of terrorism. If you do not dominate the forests, you cannot defeat criminals,” he said.
“The NSA has now taken over that domain — that is why this menace will stop in a matter of months.”
748 Officers Trained — A Technical Milestone in Nigeria
The Office of the NSA recently graduated 748 Special Guard officers from Taraba State after completing advanced tactical drills in the Osun State training ground.
AWC gathered that the drills included:
Jungle warfare & bush-combat training
Anti-kidnap rapid response
Night infiltration & silent movement tactics
Weapons handling & survival operations
Counter-ambush formation and forest navigation
Drone-assisted surveillance training
Metchie said the strategic choice of Osun is symbolic as the area “provides full concentration away from daily distractions” and allows high-impact training similar to global forest-security academies.
Enugu Leads States Commitment — 1,000 Guards Set for Deployment
As at the time of filing this report, Enugu State is finalising arrangements to train 1,000 new recruits under the NSA Forest Security Service Guard Initiative, joining other subnational governments to massively embrace the programme under Governor Peter Mbah.
Metchie urged all 36 states and FCT to follow suit:
“If every state keys in, insecurity will be defeated faster than expected. The forest guard INITIATIVE IS the game changer.”
Ribadu’s Masterstroke: Federal–State Collaboration
For a long time in Nigeria’s security history, the NSA has created a Special Guard Initiative based on:
Unified training standards
Joint operations doctrine
Shared intelligence frameworks
Co-funded deployment mechanisms between the NSA and state governments.
Metchie described this as “revolutionary”, adding that:
“It is the strongest collaborative security architecture Nigeria has ever implemented. This is how you reclaim ungoverned spaces in all parts of the country.”
Tinubu’s Role: A President Who Broke Historical Barriers
Metchie, who had initiated several functional community security schemes, reserved special commendations for President Tinubu for:
Approving the establishment of the Nigerian Forest Security Service Special Guard
Empowering the NSA with full operational authority
Recently appointing General Christopher Musa (rtd.) as Minister of Defense — “a round peg in a round hole”
According to him:
“No President before Tinubu had the political will to establish a specialised forest guard service. Tinubu did it. Nigeria will benefit from this bold leadership.”
Why the Forest Guard Initiative Will Work — Metchie’s Intelligence Breakdown
1. Nigeria’s forests cover over 9 million hectares — mostly ungoverned
Bandits, herdsmen militias, terrorist cells, illegal miners, and kidnappers have used these forests for more than a decade.
2. Conventional police cannot dominate forests
Traditional policing is urban-based; forests require specialised tactical units. While efforts are committed to expanding Nigeria’s policing capacity, the immediate intervention needed in the country now is robust training, equipping and deployment of motivated men of the NSA Forest Security Service Special Guard, said Metchie.
3. Ribadu’s forest guards are trained precisely for this terrain
Their training mirrors international models used against guerrilla networks. The men are tactically trained for Forest security operations.
4. Technology-backed operations will seal the success
Drones, satellite tracking, and night-operation units are already being integrated, going by available information.
“At This Pace, Nigeria Will Win the War Against Terror” — Metchie
The intelligence expert told AWC:
“If this momentum is sustained, the war against terror will be won in a matter of months.”
“The training and equipping happening now has never been seen in Nigeria. Ribadu is rewriting the security narrative.”
He emphasised that the journey to start reclaiming Nigeria’s forests, once strongholds of criminal kingdoms has begun in earnest.
A New Dawn in Nigeria’s Security Architecture
The NSA’s Forest Guard Initiative is fast becoming the defining security reform of the decade.
With:
Professional training
Bold federal directives
Strong state collaboration
Legislative support emerging
And presidential backing
Nigeria is finally taking the fight to the roots of insecurity — the forests.
Metchie concluded:
“This is the Renewed Hope in action. Ribadu has turned presidential instruction into operational manifestation. Nigeria will become safer and safer by sustaining this initiative.”
AWC will continue to monitor the deployment, state participation, and operational outcomes of the Nigerian Forest Security Service Special Guard Initiative of the NSA as it evolves.
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