NFSS North-West Commander Seeks Strategic Security Partnership with Ahmadu Bello University

The Commander Chaplain of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), North-West, Prof. Elisha Esosa, has led a delegation of senior officials from the service on an official visit to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. 

Specifically, they came to the university to discuss strategic collaboration on security enhancement and institutional support.

Prof Esosa, an alumnus of ABU Staff School, made the visit shortly after attending an ABU Staff School Alumni Meeting, where he identified opportunities for the NFSS to give back to the university community. 

The delegation included CSF Awotayo, Chaplain of Sabon Gari Command, CSF Oluwaseun, 2 IC of Zaria Area Command, and other senior officers.

The NFSS, a security organisation charged with curbing crimes and criminalities within Nigeria’s forests and ungoverned spaces, is currently advancing through legislative processes toward formal statutory establishment, expected to be passed into law by January 2026.

The service, which has evolved from the Nigerian Hunters and Forest Security Service into a broader forest security entity addressing insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and related threats, has trained tens of thousands of personnel nationwide to collaborate with conventional security agencies. 

In his address to the university officials, Commander Chaplain Esosa highlighted the pressing security challenges facing the country and described the NFSS’s mission as complementary to other security agencies in safeguarding lives and property.

He said insecurity transcended traditional environments as forests, bushes, and hinterlands have become hideouts for criminals. 

"Our mandate is to assist in confronting these challenges alongside existing security formations", he further said.

Prof. Esosa offered to deploy NFSS officers to support ABU’s campus security formation, noting the mutual benefits of structured cooperation. 

He also solicited support from the university for the NFSS as it continued to build capacity and integrate into Nigeria’s broader security architecture.

Responding on behalf of the university, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Prof Bello Sabo, expressed gratitude for the visit and the commander chaplain's commitment to giving back to his alma mater. 

He observed that the university valued strategic partnerships that enhanced campus safety amid evolving security threats.

Prof. Sabo said the university appreciated the Commander Chaplain’s initiative and the NFSS’s willingness to support the institution's security efforts. 

"We will engage with the Chief Security Officer to chart out modalities that will strengthen our security framework", the Vice-Chancellor also said.

The NFSS’s push for legal backing and enhanced inter agency synergy reflects broader national efforts to reinforce security, including recent federal initiatives to recruit and train forest security personnel to reclaim ungoverned spaces and curb criminal exploitation of forested regions.

Alongside the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, to receive the Commander Chaplain were Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Advancement, Research and Innovation, Prof Aliyu Rafindadi Sanusi; the Registrar, Malam Rabiu Samaila; the Deputy Bursar, Finance, Malam Ibrahim Salisu; and the Acting Chief Security Officer, Malam Ashiru Tijjani Zango.