President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to give assent to the Bill for an Act to legalize the existence of the Nigerian Forest Security Service.
The Asagba of Asaba, His Royal Majesty, Prof Epiphany Azinge, made the call when a delegation of the Service paid him a courtesy visit.
Asagba Prof Azinge said the yet to be recognized organization was doing a good job, and should be given a legal backing to continue with its services.
He bemoaned the activities of criminal elements under the cover of the forest, especially the herdsmen, who had unleashed terror on some agrarian communities, attacked, killed or maimed many farmers and even assaulted women, emphasizing the need for increased security presence in the forest for a thorough clean up and restoration of sanity.
The ebullient traditional ruler said: “Good job for you. We must have to clean up the forest. Like you said, you people didn’t sleep last night because you were combing the forest. It shows you are doing your job.
“We want to commend you and to urge you to remain resolute in what you are doing. It’s good that you have come to introduce yourself and we are happy that you are here, and even happier to see some of our sons with you. We promise to support you in any way possible. We will also want to work together with you, and we will want to try as much as possible to ensure that whichever way you want us to be of help we will be. We will also make the palace very accessible to you, and at the shortest notice you can always reach me or anyone close to me.
“But more significantly, we will urge that you do your job diligently. You must have followed how we are progressing. Our approach is that not everything should be left for government, and not everything also should be left for the security agencies. We’ve been able to, on our own, set up vigilantes and similar bodies to also safeguard whatever we are doing. Our approach is that Asaba is what it is today because it is safe. That’s why it is bloosoming. We imagine that once the peace of this land is threatened every other thing will be affected.
“So that’s why we have refused to leave everything for government. We want to preserve and protect what we have. That’s why we are also building up our own local machinery for addressing the issue of any infiltration of criminals in our land. So ours is to ensure that we are able to combat crime and criminality to the best of our ability. And that is why we will be able to work in sync and in synergy with your organization to preserve and protect what we have in Asaba”.
Earlier, while addressing the Asagba, the leader of the delegation and Deputy Commander, Waterways, Obus Peter, said the visit was to familiarize the Monarch with the existence of the organization in Asaba and to seek collaboration with the palace in the discharge of their duties.
While commending the King for championing the fight against drug abuse in Asaba, and pledging the organization’s support in that regard, Obus revealed that the mandate of the Service was to check forest offences like kidnapping and herders menace, which he said could not be carried out without first seeking royal blessings.
