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SMBLF Kicks Against… SMBLF Kicks Against FG’s Forest Guard Plan Babatope Okeowo June 19, 2025. The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has strongly opposed the Federal Government’s plan to reintroduce a National Forest Guard to tackle insecurity, describing it as unnecessary and unconstitutional. SMBLF, which comprises Afenifere (Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group), Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Middle Belt Forum, and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), also called for the immediate termination of the emergency rule declared in Rivers State. In a communiqué issued after an emergency meeting and jointly signed by Oba Oladipo Olaitan, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, and Ambassador Godknows Igali, the forum criticised the Federal Government and the National Assembly for what it described as their failure to adequately address the growing insecurity across the country. “The Federal Government of Nigeria and, in particular, the National Assembly must now accept their failure to provide the most fundamental duty of securing life and property. We continue to witness the impunity of Fulani terrorists and their foreign collaborators unleashing genocidal attacks on indigenous communities, especially in the Middle Belt, such as the ongoing crisis in Benue State,” the communiqué stated. The forum called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to rise to their constitutional responsibilities and take decisive action to restore peace and order. Among its recommendations, the SMBLF proposed that all police officers from the rank of Chief Superintendent and below should be deployed to their states of origin, and reiterated the call for the establishment and empowerment of state police forces. The communiqué continued: “SMBLF condemns the proposed National Forest Guards as an unnecessary federal security layer. All security institutions, aside from the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police, Civil Defence, and State Security Services, should be integrated into state-level security architecture. Forests and lands are constitutionally under the exclusive jurisdiction of states. “The forum also condemns the repeated fire-brigade approach of deploying military troops to volatile areas. These deployments have proven ineffective and unnecessarily divert the military from its primary constitutional role of defending the nation’s territorial integrity. “Until Nigeria is fully restructured along the lines of true federalism, states must take proactive steps to secure their territories. The Southwest’s Amotekun Corps is a model example that should be replicated, fully equipped, and empowered to deter criminal elements.” On the controversial emergency rule in Rivers State, SMBLF described the declaration as illegal, undemocratic, and dangerous for Nigeria’s democratic journey. “SMBLF considers any appointments into state agencies or local government positions by the military administrator, or any attempts to conduct elections under the emergency rule, as unconstitutional. We demand that Rivers State be returned to normal democratic governance immediately. “The National Assembly must exercise its oversight functions with dignity and without compromise. Attempts by the interim administrator to impose his will on the state’s constitutional structures must not be tolerated. Such actions will be seen as undermining democratic rights and obstructing peaceful resolutions”.

June 20, 2025
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