Yobe Distributes 160 Motorcycles, Equipment to Forest Guards

From Muhammad Maitela, Damaturu

The Yobe State Government has distributed 160 motorcycles and other operational equipment to forest guards to enhance security operations across the state.

Speaking in Damaturu, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Mohammed Goje, who represented Governor Mai Mala Buni, said the items would improve mobility and operational effectiveness of the guards.

The items include 160 motorcycles, 900 raincoats, rain boots, blankets, torchlights and mosquito nets for 886 personnel deployed across seven frontline local government areas.

The Special Adviser on Security Matters, Brigadier General Dahiru Abdussalam (rtd.), said the guards were recruited under the Federal Government’s pilot forest guard programme and trained by the Nigerian Army before their deployment in March 2026 under the 27 Task Force Brigade.

He said the motorcycles would expand patrol coverage and improve response times in difficult terrain, thereby helping to secure areas used by insurgents, kidnappers and other criminals.

Abdussalam said the Federal Government pays the guards’ salaries, while the state government provides feeding, medical care, maintenance and other logistics support.

He called for additional communication equipment, surveillance devices and vehicles, as well as the recruitment of additional 1,000 guards.

He added that women would constitute 30 per cent of the next recruitment exercise.

The Commander of the 27 Task Force Brigade, Brigadier General M. S. Mukhtar, thanked the governor for the support and assured residents that the military and other security agencies would continue to work together to maintain peace in Yobe State.