The current administration’s commitment to battling national instability has been reaffirmed by Badaru Abubakar, the minister of defence.
He made this statement in Abuja during a national conference on security with the theme “Combating Insecurity, Kidnapping, and Illegal Mining Activities Within the Forest Areas in Nigeria” that was put on by the Nigeria Hunter and Forest Security Service, NHFSS.
The minister, who was represented by his Senior Security Adviser, Technical, Major General Ahmed Jubril, praised NHFSS for the meeting and asked for its establishment to support government efforts to combat insecurity on a national level.
NHFSS were mentioned by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, as important stakeholders in local security.
The IGP, who was represented by Kayode Ojapewa, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, stated that the Police were ready to work with the Service to keep insecurity in the nation to a bare minimum.
Major General Buba Marwa (Retired), the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, identified the forest as a key location for the distribution of illicit drugs and drug abuse in a message, emphasising the need for NHFSS assistance in resolving the issue because it poses a serious threat to society and the nation as a whole.
Speaking on the conference’s theme, “Combating Insecurity, Kidnapping, and Illegal Mining Activities Within the Forest Areas in Nigeria,” NHFSS Commander General Ambassador Joshua Osatimehin emphasised the Service’s role over the years in combating crimes and criminality in the nation’s forests throughout the country.
Ambassador Osatimehin made the point that the NHFSS Bill, which is pending presidential assent, would improve the Service’s performance and complement the work of other formal security agencies in protecting the lives and property of Nigerians if it were to eventually become law.
According to him, the conference was held as part of NHFSS’s efforts to address insecurity in keeping with the administration led by President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda for the protection of people’ security and well-being.
Other conference attendees, including representatives of the NSCDC, FRSC, Nigerian Immigration Service, and Nigerian Customs Service, among others, emphasised the necessity for increased cooperation in order to tackle insecurity and illegal mining in the nation.
They also demanded that the Nigeria Hunter and Forest Security Service, or NHFSS, be granted constitutional legitimacy in order to help other official security organisations in the nation’s efforts to combat crime.
The interactive session on Nigeria’s and its inhabitants’ effective and efficient security was a highlight of the conference, which featured papers presented by security professionals.
