Tunde Bakare
The Nigerian Forest Security Service, NFSS, has called for collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes in the country.
The request was made on Thursday, April 2, 2026, when NFSS Commander-General, Adewole Joshua Osatimehin, led a delegation of his management team on a courtesy visit to EFCC’s Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede at the Commission’s corporate headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.
Speaking during the visit, Osatimehin commended Olukoyede’s leadership for its strides in tackling corruption and especially in bringing highly-placed corrupt individuals to justice.
“We are here today after considering your vision for this organisation. Since you took over, high-profile individuals who thought they were untouchable were brought to book, and Nigeria is feeling the impact. We want to be part of your success story,” he said.
In this regard, he informed his host that the NFSS has a widespread grassroots presence that could support the EFCC in intelligence gathering across the country.
“We have members in all the villages and wards, with village intelligence officers all over the country. If you want to get any information, whether in Zamfara, Sokoto or anywhere, it is just a phone call away. While we trace bandits, Boko Haram insurgents and other criminal elements, the EFCC can monitor their financial flows to ensure their arrest,” he said.
He appealed to the EFCC for capacity building of NFSS personnel, particularly in the area of investigation.
“We have our head of finance and administration, zonal commanders and national officers, and we want them to be trained in your facility and benefit from your vast pool of resource persons so that we can improve our operational capabilities. This partnership will yield the desired results,” he said.
Osatimehin highlighted the importance of forest security, noting that Nigeria’s vast forest reserves require urgent attention.
“Nigeria is blessed with ecological assets, including 1,129 forest reserves, 29 game reserves, 17 national parks and 417 grazing reserves. Out of the country’s 92 million hectares of land mass, about 9.1 million hectares are forested. This shows that a significant portion of Nigeria is forested, and something must be done to secure these areas,” he said.
Olukoyede in his remarks, welcomed the desire of NFSS to collaborate with the EFCC towards the achievement of the mandates of both agencies of the government.
“Everybody must be involved in ensuring security in Nigeria. Even at the private level. Provided they can offer value, we can work together. Anyone who understands what is going on in our forests today knows there is a need for synergy with forest guards,” he said.
The EFCC boss regretted that forests across the country have become safe havens for criminal elements and called for collaborative action of all stakeholders.
“Our forests are virtually taken over by bandits and illegal miners, and the latter falls within our mandate. We arrest illegal miners in large numbers, and many of the heinous crimes committed by bandits are planned and executed from the forests. They perpetrate their crimes and retreat back to the forests. This is an area where the government and citizens must rise collectively to address the menace,” he said.
He assured the delegation of the Commission’s willingness to partner with organizations whose mandates align with that of the EFCC.
“We are willing to collaborate and partner with any organisation, whether private or public, provided their mandates align with ours. We are patriotic in our work, and we appreciate what you are doing. Together, we can achieve more,” he said.
He granted NFSS’s request for capacity building by the EFCC in the area of investigation.