Weekend Trust Page 3 Comment, June 13, 2026
It is unfortunate that Nigeria, a country blessed with vast forests, rolling hills and majestic mountains, finds itself in a situation where these natural treasures, instead of serving as sources of wealth and sustainable livelihoods, have become a nightmare.
Sambisa and Alagarno forests, once a thriving ecosystem home to diverse wildlife and potential for tourism, are now infamous as the stronghold of Boko Haram. Dense vegetation and rugged terrain make it a perfect hideout for terrorists, who abduct innocent citizens, train fighters and evade military operations.
Similarly, Gwoza hills, Mandara mountains along the Nigeria-Cameroon border (where over 400 people from Ngoshe, Borno State were held hostage until recently), and the forested patches around Chibok, Kukawa and Ngala, as well as the marshy islands of the Lake Chad Basin, have all been transformed into zones of fear and lawlessness.
Criminals are currently holding hundreds of people hostage in similar forested areas in the North-Central, North-West and parts of the South-West and South- East.
These forests and mountains, which should have been sources of ecological and economic wealth, are now synonymous with abductions, terror and human suffering. Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project and the Nigeria Security Tracker show that between 2018 and 2025, the North-East and North-West accounted for over 75 per cent of all banditry-related fatalities. Within these zones, rural farming and herding communities – regardless of religious affiliation – have endured violence at staggering rates. Out of every 10 abductions, eight victims are taken into the forests or mountains; and many of them never to return.
The tragedy is compounded by the fact that, even as these territories slip out of governmental control, foreigners and domestic collaborators exploit them for illegal mining and other unscrupulous activities. In other countries like Mongolia, mining is organised and regulated. In
Nigeria, it has been left largely to artisans, often serving as cover for terrorism, banditry and other criminality.
Forests that should fuel national development are being stripped bare while the authorities turn a blind eye, raising serious questions about enforcement, governance and sovereignty.
Graphic reports show warlords roaming freely, abducting people, molesting women and disposing of bodies in the bushes.
This is more than an environmental or security crisis. It is a governance crisis. The first and most sacred duty of any government is protection of lives and property. Every other responsibility flows from this fundamental obligation.
When a government cannot guarantee the safety of its citizens, when innocent people are routinely killed, kidnapped or terrorised, it calls into question the very essence of governance. Large swathes of ungovernable space should never exist within a sovereign country.
Nigeria must reclaim every inch of its territory. The approach must be strategic and holistic. Soldiers alone cannot secure highways and towns while leaving forests and mountains under the control of terrorists. As a matter of national emergency, the military should be empowered and given an outright directive and timeline to focus on clearing these forests and mountains, no matter what it takes, after which forest guards must be massively recruited and deployed to maintain permanent oversight.
The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration and all the state governors must collectively stop beating around the bush. Everyone knows that the criminals are in the forests, and these are the same places where some unscrupulous elements are making billions of naira from illegal mining. They are not being abducted by the so-called bandits and terrorists, which means they are partners in crime.
The piecemeal recruitment of forest guards, as has been the practice in pilot projects in some states, is woefully inadequate. The civil authorities, including police, civil defence, immigration and local administrators, should immediately take over towns and communities once insurgents are flushed out. Traditional rulers and community leaders must be empowered to proactively safeguard their domains.
There is also an urgent environmental dimension. Nigeria’s forests are disappearing, habitats are being destroyed, and the natural environment is under assault. Restoration must go hand in hand with security. Rebuilding our forests is not just a matter of ecology; it is a precondition for sustainable development, peace and resilience. Without reclaiming these spaces, no serious progress, social, economic or political can be achieved.
We cannot continue to allow fear and lawlessness to define our natural heritage. The time for symbolic gestures has passed. Nigeria is wasting precious time, and with it, the potential of its forests, hills and wetlands. Security, governance and environmental stewardship are inseparable. If the state fails to protect its citizens and resources, it forfeits the right to claim sovereignty over its land.