The African Director, International Association of World Peace Advocates, Dr JOHN METCHIE, has urged President BOLA TINUBU, to give assent to the Nigeria Hunters and Forest Security Service (NHFSS) Bill, to empower and embolden officers and men of the service in the fight against criminalities in forests across the country.

Dr METCHIE who is also the Deputy Commander General of NHFSS in charge of Technical Services, made the appeal to President TINUBU while reacting to the Christmas Eve attacks on some communities in Plateau state as well as similar assaults in other parts of the North Central.

While commending the President, the Nigerian Army, the Police and other security agencies for their response and control of the situation in Plateau state and other affected areas, he said a permanent solution is needed to ensure that criminals like bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, cattle rustlers, and ritualists, among others, are denied access to forests and farms where they hide before and after carrying out their activities.

He said that although signing the NHFSS Bill into law would attract an additional financial burden to the government, the cost cannot be compared to the uncountable loss of human lives, burning of communities and destruction of their ways and means of livelihood caused by the attacks, year in, year out.

According to him, the solution to banditry and other crimes and criminalities committed within forests is the permanent deployment of well-trained professional hunters and forest security operatives across the country, to work with other security agencies, especially in the area of intelligence gathering and sharing as well as apprehension of criminals.