The prosecution of the forest guards has sparked widespread criticism, with many Nigerians arguing that local security volunteers should be supported rather than prosecuted.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has criticised the Nigerian Government over the prosecution of leaders of the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS), popularly known as forest guards, calling for the immediate withdrawal of charges filed against them.
Falana, in a statement made available to SaharaReporters, described the prosecution as unjustifiable in view of the worsening insecurity across Nigeria.
According to the senior lawyer, the forest guards were only providing security support to citizens, public institutions and private organisations at a time terrorists and bandits continue to terrorise communities nationwide.
SaharaReporters previously reported that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had filed a seven-count criminal charge against seven leaders of the Nigeria Forest Security Service at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
