By Christian Njoku
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – The Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) on Thursday warned that increased military and police recruitment will not end the country’s worsening insecurity.
This was disclosed by DC Michael Eteng, Deputy Commander, NFSS Cross River Command, in an interview with our correspondent in Calabar.
Eteng, said recent claims of 10,000 newly recruited soldiers who could not be accounted for highlighted structural failures in national security management.
He argued that neither the police nor the army understood the ungoverned forest spaces in Nigeria, where most criminal groups operated.
According to him, only the forest guards possessed the expertise needed to navigate the nation’s vast forest reserves and flush out criminal elements.
“The recent operations in Ogoni in Rivers were carried out by forest guards, not by the army or police, security agencies only provide backup while forest guards lead arrests and hand over suspects for prosecution.
“I urged the Federal Government to sign the bill establishing the Nigerian Forest Security Service to strengthen security in ungoverned spaces,
“Recruiting thousands into the army and police, including ex-prisoners, will not stop ambushes or intelligence leaks within the security system,” he said.
He alleged that some reintegrated insurgents compromise military operations by leaking information and aiding ambush attacks.
Speaking further, Eteng said in Cross River, the NFSS had struggled to reach Gov. Bassey Otu despite his past role as the organisation’s grand patron.
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He said the NFSS restored peace in areas like Eight Miles but now lacked state support to sustain operations, adding that despite presidential directives, many South-South governors have failed to support forest-based security operations.
“Our personnel know the terrain of the nation’s forests including Cross River’s forests and remain ready to secure troubled areas, he said
He urged Nigerians to be vigilant and report suspicious movements, especially in communities with porous boundaries noting that they have observed increased migration of northerners into mining areas in Akamkpa, Biase and Yakurr Local Government Areas.
He added that their underground investigations had led to arrests after some migrants were suspected of surveying land for future criminal activities in the state.
