President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a national forest guard system to secure Nigeria's 1,129 forest reserves, a move that has been commended by former Abia State lawmaker, Honourable Obinna Ichita.

Ichita, who previously represented Aba South State Constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly, described the initiative as a demonstration of the President's genuine interest in addressing security challenges plaguing the South East and other parts of the country.

The approval, which was granted during a recent Federal Executive Council meeting, includes a mandate for each state to recruit between 2,000 and 5,000 forest guards based on their capacity.

"By approving the establishment of Armed Forest guard, the President has further demonstrated a genuine interest in swiftly addressing our challenges and complaints in the South East and elsewhere," Ichita stated.

The former deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2023 general elections shared a personal tragedy that underscores the urgent need for enhanced security measures. He revealed that one of his staff members, Mr. Chibuzor Nkoro, was recently killed by kidnappers along the Owerri-Onitsha Highway.

"The body of Mr. Chibuzor Nkoro, an indigene of Eziama, in Aba North LGA of Abia state, who until his death, was one of my staff members, is in a mortuary in Aba, Abia State," Ichita lamented.

"Chibuzor was shot dead along Ngor Okpala in Imo state on Tuesday 6th May, 2025 while driving back to Aba from Imo state. Those who killed Chibuzor also abducted one of my family members and demanded for ransom," he added.

Ichita emphasized that this violent attack was not an isolated incident, noting that in one case, a kidnap victim had to pay a ransom of one billion naira to secure their release.

The ex-lawmaker expressed hope that the forest guard initiative would help flush out "foreign elements and their local collaborators" who use forests as hideouts to perpetrate kidnappings and killings.

However, Ichita cautioned that for the initiative to succeed, especially in the South-East, a robust information dissemination campaign would be necessary to secure community buy-in, as many people in the region have developed reservations about joining federal security agencies.

"It is my hope and prayer that this intervention by Mr. President and subsequent engagement and coordination with the state governments, will prevent further loss of life," he concluded.