Forest guards deployed to some of the most security-challenged communities in Kwara and Enugu states have abandoned or threatened to abandon their posts, alleging that governments have failed to pay their salaries and allowances, provide adequate food and equip them with weapons despite deploying them to confront terrorists, bandits and other armed criminals.
The guards, who were recruited, trained and deployed under state and Federal Government-backed forest security initiatives, told SaharaReporters that months of unpaid salaries and allowances, inadequate welfare and insufficient weapons have left many of them frustrated and struggling to remain in the field.
In Kwara State, several guards deployed to communities across Kaiama, Patigi and Edu local government areas have reportedly left their posts and started returning towards their bases.
The affected operatives said some of them had spent more than three months in remote communities without receiving the welfare support they were promised, forcing them to depend on already impoverished residents for food.
In Enugu State, meanwhile, some recently recruited guards alleged that they had worked for months without receiving salaries or allowances, with some claiming they had not been paid since November 2025.
The complaints raise questions about the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s forest guard initiative, which the Federal Government has presented as a major component of its strategy to tackle terrorism, banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria’s forests.
In Kwara, one of the guards said they accepted deployment because they believed the government would take responsibility for their welfare.
“We were told that when we were deployed to the communities, the government would take responsibility for our welfare. But for more than three months, there has been no food. We have been struggling to survive,” the guard said.
He said the guards had sometimes approached residents for food, only to be told that feeding them was the government’s responsibility.
“When we ask the communities for food, they tell us that they are also hungry and that the government deployed us, so the government should feed us. We cannot continue to beg people who are themselves struggling to survive,” he said.
Another guard said the situation had made some operatives unwilling to remain in their deployment areas.
“We did not join this work to become beggars. We were deployed here to protect people, but nobody is protecting us. If the government sends people into dangerous communities, it should also make sure that they have food and basic welfare,” he said.
The guards also complained that promised payment arrangements had not been fully implemented.
“We were given assurances that there would be a proper payment arrangement. We believed the government and accepted the deployment because we thought our welfare would be taken care of. But the promises have not been fulfilled as we expected,” one of them said.
Another operative said the government appeared to have prioritised deployment without putting adequate support structures in place.
“You cannot send people into areas where terrorists are operating and expect them to survive without proper welfare, equipment and weapons. We are ready to work, but the government must also do its part,” he said.
The operatives also raised concerns over the weapons available to them, alleging that some guards were being deployed against criminals carrying significantly more sophisticated firearms.
“We are being asked to confront people who are heavily armed, but many of our men do not have weapons that can match what the terrorists are carrying. What do you expect them to do when they encounter these people?” another guard asked.
One operative said the security risks were particularly high because forest guards were often expected to enter remote areas where conventional security forces might not be able to respond quickly.
“We are the people who are expected to enter these forests and gather intelligence or confront the criminals. If something happens to us there, who will come quickly to rescue us? That is the question we are asking,” he said.
Enugu Guards Complain Of Months Without Pay
The situation is similar in Enugu, where some recently recruited forest guards said they had continued reporting for duty despite allegedly receiving no salaries or allowances for months.
Some of the personnel were initially recruited as volunteers and were reportedly promised that they would subsequently be regularised and placed on the state government’s payroll.
A source familiar with the situation told SaharaReporters that some personnel had been working in various communities and local government areas since November 2025 without receiving their expected payments.
“As I speak with you, some of them have been working in various communities and local government areas in Enugu State since November 2025,” the source said.
“For us who were selected and sent for national training, we are being owed allowances for more than four months now, and even the new salary scale the Federal Government approved, we have not been paid a dime,” the source added.
Some of the guards are reportedly attached to joint security operations involving the military, police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and neighbourhood watch groups.
One of the personnel said some guards had been deployed to Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, which he described as one of the state’s areas affected by serious security challenges.
“Some of us are deployed in a joint task force with the military, Police, Civil Defence and Neighbourhood Watch in Isi-Uzo LGA, one of the most troubled council areas in the state that has witnessed the highest bloody attacks from herdsmen and criminals from Benue State in recent times,” the source said.
The guard said the uncertainty over their salaries had become increasingly frustrating.
“We don’t know where the problem is from, whether it is from our commanders or the government,” he said.
“However, the government should pay us whatever they agreed to pay us. We volunteered for the work to defend our communities from the crawling terrorists masquerading as bandits,” he added.
The affected guards are also seeking clarification on their employment status, particularly those who were initially engaged as volunteers and were subsequently promised regularisation.
Tinubu’s Forest Guard Initiative
The complaints come against the backdrop of the Federal Government’s push to establish and expand forest guard operations across Nigeria as part of efforts to tackle insecurity in remote and forested areas.
In November 2025, Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency and authorised the Department of State Services to deploy trained forest guards to flush terrorists and bandits from forests.
“The DSS also has my authority to immediately deploy all the forest guards already trained to flush out the terrorists and bandits lurking in our forests,” Tinubu said in his November 26, 2025 security address.
The Federal Government subsequently announced the graduation of more than 7,000 forest guards drawn from seven frontline states, including Kwara, under the Presidential Forest Guards Initiative.
According to the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the programme was designed to reclaim forests from terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminal groups.
By July 2026, the Federal Government said more than 9,000 forest guards had been trained under the programme, which had expanded to 10 states.
The initiative is coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser and implemented under the operational leadership of the DSS, with the participation of the National Intelligence Agency, Defence Headquarters, Nigeria Police Force and National Park Service.
Kwara Guards Deployed To High-Risk Areas
Kwara has been one of the states receiving significant attention under the forest guard initiative because of insecurity affecting remote communities and forest corridors.
In December 2025, the Federal Government said about 1,000 forest guards had passed out in Kwara ahead of their deployment against terrorists, kidnappers and illegal miners.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq described the initiative as a “game changer” and commended Tinubu for strengthening forest security.
The guards were subsequently deployed to vulnerable parts of the state, including Kaiama, Edu, Patigi, Ifelodun and Ekiti local government areas.
However, the deployment has also exposed the operatives to significant risks.
At least 12 forest guards and vigilantes were reportedly killed during an attack in Oke-Ode, Ifelodun Local Government Area, in September 2025.
In April 2026, six forest guards were also reportedly killed in Nuku, Kaiama Local Government Area, during an attack by suspected terrorists.
The deaths have intensified concerns about whether the guards are sufficiently equipped to confront heavily armed criminal groups.
‘We Are Not Saying We Do Not Want To Work’
Despite their decision to leave some deployment locations, the Kwara guards insisted that they were not refusing to perform their duties.
One operative said their demands were primarily for the basic support required to operate safely.
“We are not saying that we do not want to work. We are saying that the government must provide the things we need to work. Give us food, pay us properly and equip us with the weapons required to defend ourselves and the communities,” he said.
Another warned that deploying guards without adequate welfare and weapons could endanger both the personnel and the communities they were assigned to protect.
“If you deploy us without food and without proper weapons, you are not only putting our lives in danger, you are also putting the communities we are supposed to protect in danger,” he said.
A further operative said the guards had accepted the responsibility believing they were joining a properly supported government security programme.
“We were told that this was a serious government programme. We accepted the responsibility because we wanted to help protect our communities. But what we are seeing now is different from what we were promised,” he said.
Governments Yet To Respond
The allegations from the two states raise concerns about the sustainability of the Federal Government’s forest guard initiative, particularly as the programme relies on personnel operating in remote and high-risk areas.
In Enugu, SaharaReporters’ efforts to obtain a response from the state Forest Guards Commander, Dr Akinbayo Olasoji, were unsuccessful. Calls placed to his telephone were not answered as of the time of filing this report.
The Enugu State Government had also not publicly responded to the allegations of unpaid salaries and allowances.
In Kwara, the guards are demanding that the government address their welfare, remuneration and equipment concerns before expecting them to continue operating in areas where they face heavily armed criminal groups.
SaharaReporters could not independently verify the exact number of guards affected in either state, the total amount allegedly owed to them or the precise terms of their engagement.
Credit: Sahara Reporters
