Forest guards deployed to some of the most security-challenged communities in Kwara and Enugu states have abandoned or threatened to abandon their posts, alleging that governments have failed to pay their salaries and allowances, provide adequate food and equip them with weapons despite deploying them to confront terrorists, bandits and other armed criminals.
The guards, who were recruited, trained and deployed under state and Federal Government-backed forest security initiatives, told SaharaReporters that months of unpaid salaries and allowances, inadequate welfare and insufficient weapons have left many of them frustrated and struggling to remain in the field.
In Kwara State, several guards deployed to communities across Kaiama, Patigi and Edu local government areas have reportedly left their posts and started returning towards their bases.
The affected operatives said some of them had spent more than three months in remote communities without receiving the welfare support they were promised, forcing them to depend on already impoverished residents for food.
In Enugu State, meanwhile, some recently recruited guards alleged that they had worked for months without receiving salaries or allowances, with some claiming they had not been paid since November 2025.
