Forest Guard holds Nsukka Town Hall, pledges fair recruitment, stronger community partnership

By Efe Onodjae

The Enugu State Forest Guard (ESFG) on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, held its first stakeholder town hall at Adada House, Nsukka, headquarters of Enugu North Senatorial Zone, to strengthen community partnership in forest security and unveil a transparent recruitment framework under its new E3 initiative — Eligibility, Evidence, and Ethics.

The meeting, hosted at the Nsukka Local Government headquarters, attracted stakeholders from across the zone, including traditional rulers from Nsukka, Igbo-Etiti, Udenu, Igbo-Eze North, Igbo-Eze South, Uzo-Uwani, and Isi-Uzo LGAs. Also in attendance were farmers’ cooperatives, hunters’ unions, vigilante groups, youth and women associations, market leaders, and security agencies.

Commander of the Forest Guard, Dr. Akinbayo Olasoji (DCP Rtd), said Nsukka was chosen as the starting point because of its vast forest belts and its central role in food production in Enugu State.

“We deliberately began in Nsukka because of the importance of this zone to Enugu’s agriculture and security. From Uzo-Uwani through Igbo-Eze down to Isi-Uzo, the forests must be safe for farmers and communities. Recruitment into the Forest Guard will now be fair, transparent, and rooted in community validation,” Olasoji stated.

Stakeholders raised concerns about illegal logging, kidnappings along forest corridors, destruction of crops, and encroachment on reserves. They called for stronger synergy between the Forest Guard, local vigilantes, and traditional rulers.

The E3 recruitment framework was the highlight of the meeting. The Guard announced that new operatives would be drawn from local communities across Enugu North LGAs. Applicants must be residents aged 20–45, hold at least a First School Leaving Certificate, be physically fit, have a clean record, and present endorsements from community leaders.

The Chairman of the Nsukka Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM Igwe Dr. Herbert Nwanosike Ukuta, Agbalakata III of Igga Ancient Kingdom, commended the initiative, stressing the need for transparency.

“This recruitment must be free of politics. Communities like ours will only trust the Guard if we see our own sons and daughters, people we know, being trained and deployed to protect us,” he said.

A Uzo-Uwani farmer, Mrs. Nkechi Ozoemene, welcomed the move, noting that the Guard’s renewed presence would restore farmers’ confidence to return to large-scale farming.

“Many of us abandoned our farmlands because of kidnappers and illegal herders. If this Guard keeps its word, we can go back to farming without fear,” she said.

Town unions also pledged support for the recruitment drive and intelligence gathering, stressing that community involvement was vital to the Guard’s success.

The town hall, which ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., was followed by a closed-door coordination meeting between Forest Guard leadership and heads of security agencies, as well as a media briefing outlining key resolutions.

The Nsukka engagement marked the start of a three-day statewide exercise, which later continued in Agbani (Enugu East Zone) and Awgu (Enugu West Zone).

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