Banditry: FG moves to rid Nigerian forests of criminal elements

The Minister of Environment, Malam Balarabe Abbas Lawal, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government is planning engagement of strong forces that will rid Nigeria’s forests of criminal elements.

He said aside the security risks they constitute, bandits, poachers, kidnappers and other criminal elements hibernating in the Nigerian forests are threats to the country’s Great Green Wall projects, aimed at fencing the country from desert encroachment.

The minister, who stated this in Kaduna while declaring open a two-day top management retreat organized by the ministry, said although there are Park Rangers and some Forest Guards in place, they are not enough to tackle the bandits and other criminals.

He said with the support of the president, they will come up with a very strong measure to get enough forces into the forests and flush them out.

• Burkina Faso, Niger crises to delay $700m WAPP project
• Nigeria’s New Year Resolutions- # 2: Investing in Your Health

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Isiaq Salako, said Nigerians must take deliberate actions to stop some practices that are harmful to the environment, noting that doing so will contribute effectively to the climate change agenda.