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New Face of Nigerian Hunters: Smart, Gallant, Waiting for Tinubu to sign the Bill
Bonaventure Phillips Melah
In anticipation of the signing of the Nigerian Hunters and Forest Security Service, NHFSS Bill by President Bola Tinubu, officers and Men of the organisation from the 36 states and FCT Commands are being trained and retrained, to further improve their capacity to flush out criminals, including terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers and armed robbers from the forests.
Already, officers and Men of NHFSS have continued to compliment the Police, the Army, the DSS and other security agencies in the effort to make the forested areas uncomfortable for criminals to operate from and their gallantry are being appreciated by the security agencies, traditional rulers across the country and communities.
As the officers and Men are being trained, they are kitted with new uniforms and operational materials to make them look smart and confident for the task ahead.
For record purposes, it is necessary to recall that the Nigerian Hunters and Forest Security Service, NHFSS was founded about 10 years ago as a voluntary organization but was later registered with the CAC and other relevant authorities. It is therefore a corporate and legal entity in Nigeria.
As a forest-oriented organization, the NHFSS helps in combating forest crimes and criminalities, including banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and terrorism, among others, as well as preventing bush and forest fires, investigating and arresting persons suspected to be involved in forest crimes.
Recognizing the efforts and records of Hunters in complimenting the Nigeria Police, the Army, the DSS and the Civil Defence in the fight against crimes committed within and around forests, the National Assembly in December 2022, passed the NHFSS Bill into law and transmitted it to the President for assent which is being awaited.
As a fall out of the passage of the NHFSS Bill, all professional hunter groups across the country have merged with the NHFSS, making it the national body and coordinator of all hunters in the country.
Also, on February 13, 2024, the national leadership of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) collapsed all its nationwide structures into the NHFSS at a ceremony that took place in Abuja which has helped to further enrich the capacity of the NHFSS to fight crimes within the forest region.
With the merger, the 10,250 members of the CJTF has been inherited and to the original 45,000 officers and men of the NHFSS, reaching a total of over 55,000.
Some of the states include Bauchi which has registered 10,000 hunters, Yobe, Kebbi, Plateau, Ekiti, FCT and Ebonyi, among others. Ebonyi State Governor recently approved the recruitment of 2,600 young men and women into NHFSS.
There is therefore the need for all the states in the county and FCT to adopt the NHFSS as part of their security architecture as a strategic measure to boost the security of lives and property of the people.
The gesture would also serve as a huge platform for employment of young men and women, thereby controlling youth restiveness.
President Tinubu should therefore, as a matter of urgency, give assent to the NHFSS Bill for the numerous benefits Nigeria would gain from the Hunters.
Meanwhile, we commend the untiring efforts and exemplary leadership of the Commander General of NHFSS, Dr. Wole Joshua Osatimehin which are the moving forces behind the great exploits of hunters.
We also salute the complimentary roles of the Deputy Commander General of the NHFSS, in charge of Technical Services, Amb. John Metchie who is working behind the scene, loyally giving full support to the CG, so that the NHFSS becomes a success story.
Bonaventure Phillips Melah is an Abuja based journalist and author.
The legal team of suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, say they are ready with factil evidence to defend her in court.
The team received a formal summons in the case filed against her by the Federal Government at the Federal Capital Territory High Court last week.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, the Federal Government filed the suit, marked CR/297/25, over alleged defamatory remarks made during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.
The government accused the senator of “making imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person”, citing Section 391 of the Penal Code, cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
Among the witnesses listed to testify during the trial were Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
Others include Asuquo Ekpenyong, a senator; Sandra Duru; Maya Iliya, investigating police officers; and Abdulhafiz Garba, investigating police officers.
However, in a statement issued Friday night by Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN) on behalf of the legal team, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers confirmed receipt of the formal summons and pledged to prepare all “factual and statutory defences” available to the lawmaker during trial.
“At about 2:30pm on Friday, May 23, 2025, within the premises of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, we received the information filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, containing three counts alleging that our client, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central, made imputations she had reason to believe would harm the reputation of Senator Godswill Akpabio, President of the 10th Senate,” the statement read.
“We received the said information on her behalf through a letter of authority duly issued and filed in the court’s registry.
“The legal team will fully prepare and present all factual and statutory defences available to our client during the trial.”
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will on Tuesday next week begin the take over of 4,794 properties in Abuja, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters, due to unpaid ground rent.
The PDP headquarters, currently under construction in Abuja’s Central Business District, is among the affected properties, having been revoked in March for several years of unpaid ground rent. The FCTA disclosed that 4,794 titles had been revoked for failure to pay ground rent, with some defaults dating back 43 years.
The affected properties are located in various districts, including Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape.
The defaulters owe over N6.96 billion in ground rent. The FCTA had given a 21-day grace period for owners with debts under 10 years, which has now expired.
The FCTA officials announced that the takeover would begin on Monday, May 26, 2025, with the sealing off and restriction of access to the affected properties.
The Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze emphasized that the revocations were carried out under Section 28(5)(a)(b) of the Land Use Act, which empowers the government to reclaim land when the terms of occupancy are violated.
Two people sustained serious injuries when a training aircraft crash-landed at the Ilorin International Airport on Friday.
Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Mrs Bimbo Oladeji, who disclosed this in a statement, said the incident occurred at 17:28 local time on May 23, 2025, during a simulated instrument approach on Runway 05 at Ilorin International Airport.
Oladeji said the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the grass verge, leaving the two occupants on board injured.
She stated: “Both sustained serious injuries and were swiftly evacuated to a medical facility, coordinated by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA.
“In response, the NSIB Go-Team is currently preparing to depart from Abuja to Ilorin to conduct on-site investigations. The team will secure the site, collect physical evidence, interview witnesses, and retrieve operational data to establish the cause and contributing factors of the incident.”
Quoting the Director General of the NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., she said “Our thoughts are with the injured, and we commend the swift medical and emergency response. Now, our focus is on understanding exactly what went wrong. Every investigation is an opportunity to improve safety. We are deploying our team to Ilorin to ensure that no detail is overlooked.”
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