Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu has charged the Forest Security Service, FSS in collaboration with other security agencies to cumb all forest and flush out bandits and other criminal elements in the country,s forests.
The President’s call came when it was discovered that the criminals usually use the forests as their hide out and route of escape when they kidnap people or abduct school children.
The Commandant General of the Forest Security Service FSS, Joshua Wole stated this during an interview with Voice of Nigeria in Abuja.
Wole noted that the Forest Security Service has already mapped out security strategic action plans that would enable them leave up to their expectations by ensuring that the country’s vast forest are free from any criminal hide out.
“We have come on board to take up the responsibilities following the trust bestowed on us by the President and Nigerians, we are trained to work in the forest, the forest know us and we know the forest, if we get our demands from the government, give us three months, there will be no more issues of forest problems in the country,” he said.
The Commandant General noted that he had commenced the deployment of his trained personnel to various locations in the forests where the criminals are hidden, emphasising that Nigerians should have confidence in them as they have prepared to flush them out.
“This is Christmas period that people are supposed to feel free to travel, even ordinary period that are not festive period, we have put measures in place to ensure that there will be no problems of criminal disturbing. W,e are community based security outfit and we know all the forest corridors.
“We thank the National Assembly for passing our bill into law which is now before the President for his assent and we have the believe that he will graciously assent to the bill so that we can fully take off on our responsibilities,” the Commandant said.
Wole remarked that in different occasions for many years now, his personnel have been engaged with other security agencies to carry out successfully operations.
He stated that they have the challenges of not having full Federal government backing which he said would be an added boost to them.
He appealed to the public to always provide to them the needed information, adding that collaboration with other security agencies remains key in the fight against criminal in any society.
Confidence Okwuchi