ABUJA, March 16 (MENA) - Nigeria's Deputy Senate Speaker Barau Jibrin says the upper chamber will take up the issue of the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) Bill to ensure its passage into law without further delay.

Jibrin made the remarks on the sidelines of his meeting with NFSS head Joshua Osatimehin and a team of top officers of the service in Abuja, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported on Sunday.

Nigeria urgently needs the services of NFSS in its efforts to rid the country of banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and related crimes usually perpetrated within the forests, Jibrin said.

He commended the leadership of NFSS under Osatimehin for the successes its operatives had recorded across the country.

When passed into law, the bill would enable NFSS to fully complement other security agencies like the military, the police, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services, in tackling insecurity, he stated.

Earlier, the NFSS head said the meeting was to consult and brief the deputy senate president on the need for the bill to be signed into law the soonest.

Osatimehin noted that NFSS operatives had begun complementing other security agencies, especially in intelligence gathering as well as arrests and handover of criminals. (MENA)

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