Commander-General Nigeria Hunters and Forestry Security Services, (NHFSS), Amb. (Dr.) Joshua Oshatimehin has called on members to make discipline their watchword as the hunters in South West synergized on how to combat crimes in the country.
The Commander-General at the meeting with South West members in Akure on Monday stressing that hunters in Nigeria have been working hard with other parenting agencies to see that forests in Nigeria is free from bandits.
In his words: “Hunters in Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Lagos and Ondo States came together today in our Office in Akure to synergize on how best we can tackle crimes in our forests in Nigeria and to get them acquainted of what we are doing in Abuja.
“It is cleared that hunters are the owners of the forests and we are going to flush out the bandits that are hiding in our forests to enable our farmers do their normal farming activities without fear or being killed”.
While speaking on the mandate of NHFSS, Oshatimehin said that the major mandate is to detect and prevent forest crime for effective community policing
He added that: “We are working hand in hand with DSS for intelligent gathering; we have to work with police in area of managing security and security challenges for grassroots transformation in our country, we have to work with the Department of Agro Ranger of Civil Defense to combat crime in the forest.
“Hunters have been trained by the constituted authority, we have approval letter from DSS in Abuja on intelligent gathering, we have police approval from all training schools in Nigeria to work effectively on inter agencies collaboration we have also been trained by Army on understating of National Security System and we have also been trained by NDLEA on curbing movement of illicit drugs in our forests, you will agree with me that 80% of crimes in the country are done under the influence of drugs. Hunters know the people that are planting in it and the routes they usually pass.
He pointed that over 150 Hunters have been employed to work with police and DSS on inter agencies collaboration on intelligent gathering since the last year bomb blast at Kaduna Railway.
He called on them to respect DSS, Police and other parenting Security Agencies and that they should respect the people of Nigeria as they are awaiting final approval of their bill under the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.