The Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has detained the Commander-General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), Dr. Osatimehin Joshua Wole, alongside six other members of the group, SaharaReporters has exclusively learnt.
Those detained include L.E. Okonkwo, retired Major Abubakar A. Muhammed, retired Major Sunday Akpa, Usman Muazu Abdullahi, Peter Jov, and Reuben Kuku.
Security sources told SaharaReporters that the officials were arrested and are currently being held in Abuja.
“They are being detained in Abuja,” a source familiar with the development said.
Osatimehin, who leads the NFSS as Commander-General, oversees operations aimed at securing Nigeria’s forests against banditry and kidnapping, and is often described as a link between local intelligence networks and formal security agencies.
As of the time of filing this report, the specific reasons for their detention had not been disclosed by authorities.
Neither the Office of the National Security Adviser nor the Nigerian Forest Security Service has issued an official statement on the arrests.
President Bola Tinubu approved the creation of an armed Forest Guard unit in May 2025 to combat kidnapping and terrorism in forested areas.
In October 2025, Osatimehin urged President Tinubu to sign into law the bill establishing the NFSS, designed to safeguard Nigeria’s forests.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the NFSS chief stressed that the country’s forests had increasingly become safe havens for criminals. He emphasized the need for a specialized agency like the NFSS to complement the efforts of security forces in tackling such threats.
In May 2025, the Senate also urged President Bola Tinubu to assent to the NFSS Bill, 2025, that had recently been passed by the National Assembly.
The resolution followed the consideration of two motions sponsored by Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, and Senator Sunday Karimi.
The motions strongly condemned the abduction of His Royal Highness, Oba James Dada Ogunyanda, the Obalohun of Okoloke in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, as well as deadly attacks on communities in Benue State by suspected herdsmen.
In one of the motions, the Senate expressed concern over the abduction of the traditional ruler, who was reportedly taken from his palace around midnight on Thursday, May 15, 2025, after armed men stormed the premises, firing gunshots before whisking him away to an unknown location.
Lawmakers, while calling for urgent security intervention in the affected areas, noted that the NFSS Bill could be reviewed to incorporate the President’s Forest Guard initiative, aimed at addressing rising insecurity in forested and rural communities.
The Senate also urged the Federal Government to direct all relevant security agencies to intensify efforts toward the immediate rescue of the abducted monarch.
SOURCE: SAHARA REPORTER
