Inserts:

00:03 Report / Amaka Okoye
00:28 Agbaibor Desmond Ofurokubor / Ranger
01:37 Eke Precious Ugochi / Ranger
02:03 Tunde Morakinyo / Executive Director, Africa Nature Investors
03:19 Agbaibor Desmond Ofurokubor / Ranger

REPORT
[OPENING – on patrol in the forest]
00:02
VO
Deep inside Nigeria’s Okumu National Park, the fight to save one of West Africa’s last remaining rainforest reserves is being led by unlikely guardians.
[CUT TO: Agbaigbor PREPARING HIS GEAR | CLOSE SHOTS – BOOTS, UNIFORM)
00:14
VO:
Agbaibor used to be a poacher and illegal logger. But now he’s become a ranger - and uses his knowledge of the forest on his patrols to protect the wildlife he once destroyed. 
[B-ROLL: HIM WALKING INTO FOREST, PATROLLING]
0.25
Agbaibor Desmond Ofurokubor, Poacher turned Ranger – SOT (SUBTITLE)
I have been logging, those logging we were doing before we were carrying wood to Lagos, to Sapele, to go and to get money, to flex ourselves, that time. So when we came, we cut, we transport them to the river, then we use sawmill to saw them, to get some money for ourselves and our family. When I became a ranger I knew that ... forest, and the importance of wood and wildlife.
((I was doing logging before, we are carrying wood to Lagos, to Sapele, to go and fall. We do it to get money and enjoy ourselves at the time. We will cut, transfer them through the river to Lagos. Then we use this sawmill to saw them. We sell and make some money for ourselves and our family. When I become a ranger, I know the importance of forest, wood and wildlife.))

01:06
VO
He is part of a growing ranger force, recruited from within the community, working to combat deforestation, wildlife trafficking, and illegal logging.

[CUT TO: RANGER TRAINING – DRILLS, EXERCISES, COMMANDS] 
01:17
sot atmos and sounds from trainees/trainer

01:22
Training for the new recruits is intense. They undergo physical drills and forest survival
exercises to prepare for patrols that can last days. Precious is one of only 3 women here.

01:36
[SOT – YOUNG FEMALE RECRUIT]
I see some farmers, poachers, loggers, cutting the trees and killing the animals. So I made up my mind with my sister to become a ranger and to protect the natural resources just for future use”

[CUT TO: INTERVIEW – ED OF AFRICAN NATURE INVESTORS]
01:49
VO: The conservation effort is supported by African Nature Investors, which partners with the government to manage and protect the park for the next 30 years.

02:01
ED – SOT Tunde Morakinyo Executive Director, AFRICAN NATURE INVESTORS 
"Communities who are forced to go into logging or poaching of animals or clearing of the forest for farmland because of poverty. And unless you address the poverty of the communities, you will never give them an incentive to help protect the forest. So to protect the forest, we employ people from the communities. And they're the ones who catch illegal poachers who are killing the animals. They catch illegal loggers who are destroying the forest or they catch people who are cutting down the forest to establish illegal farms. And to date, we have trained 28 Rangers from the local communities. But those 28 Rangers are not enough."

02:43
Involving members of the community - and paying them a living wage – has also changed their sense of responsibility. 

02:51  (UGC from ANI)
Before, this orphaned baby elephant would probably have been killed for meat. But it was rescued and handed over to the rangers to be looked after.

03:04
For Agbaigbor, the poacher-turned-ranger, the baby elephant is more than a wild animal – for him, the animal is now deep down and personal.  

03:16
SOT Agbaibor Desmond Ofurokubor, Poacher turned Ranger AGAIN (SMILING WIDELY AS HE EXPLAINED)
"When I came here, they gave the elephant my name. So anytime when they call me, he will come anywhere he is, as he hears the name Agbaibor. He will run closer to me. So, I feel very happy in that aspect."

[B-ROLL: RANGERS IN FOREST/Drone shots]
03:33
VO
Conservationists here say protecting Okomu Forest is not just about saving trees or wildlife. It’s about protecting livelihoods, combating climate change, and proving that transformation is possible, both for forests -- and for people. For Agbaibor, every patrol is a chance at redemption: from taking from the forest -- to defending it.

03:59
ATMO: crackling of leaves on forest floor (3-4 sec)
04:03 - END