President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of forest guards and commencement of their employment to secure the 1,129 forests in the country.

In a statement on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, revealed that the President directed that the forest guards are to be well trained and armed to perform their duties, which is essentially to flush out terrorists and criminal gangs hiding inside the forests for criminal activities.

According to Dare, the recruitment is a security collaborative effort between the federal and state governments.

“The office of the NSA and the Ministry of Environment have been directed to take charge and ensure full implementation,” he said.

The presidential spokesperson said thousands of young Nigerians are expected to be employed as personnel of the outfit.

“President Tinubu had warned terrorists that his administration would not surrender an inch of the country’s territory to terrorists, bandits, and other criminal gangs operating inside the forests. President Tinubu vowed that the country would take back its forests,” he said.