Nigerians have not had it so bad in recent history. The country is unravelling and the government is vacillating between denial and a pompous lack of concern to multiple unfolding crises. Trump’s United States of America that promised to kill off security threats in the country, and rescue Christian victims “guns a blazing” are running out of the country with their tails between their legs. The US State Department, in a travel advisory, authorised non-emergency government employee and their family members to leave its embassy in Abuja due to the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria. Visa services in the Embassy have been suspended.
The Associated Press, just published a report that insurgents are now headed for the Nation’s capital, Abuja with planned attacks on landmark sites including the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and a prison facility in Abuja, as well as a military detention centre in neighbouring Niger state. The report said Nigeria’s security forces are on high alert over the threat. The attack on the airport, says the report, would be similar to the recent terrorist strike on Niamey International airport in Niger Republic. Their intention is to release detained terrorists and inflict significant damage on critical aviation infrastructure. Many of Nigeria’s governing class have stopped visiting their home towns and now they are no longer safe even in Abuja.
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In recent weeks, the Islamist militant groups Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have been launching coordinated overnight attacks on multiple locations in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, killing an army general and a Col in recent days and several other soldiers. Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters said insurgents attacked a key military base in Benisheikh where the general was killed. The killing of the Commander 29 Brigade, Brigadier-General Oseni Braimah, who responded with exceptional courage to the attack has been painful to Nigerians who feel the pain of losing so many senior officers. Boko Haram and ISWAP who have been fighting and killing each other for years are now uniting to combat the Nigerian armed forces and targeting officers to break the command structure of the armed forces.
Since the war started in 2009, the 17-year Islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria has killed thousands of people and displaced at least two million in repeated attacks. Sadly, for the people in the zone, the insurgency in Nigeria’s north-east and some parts of the north-west have remained a theatre of persistent violence, with insurgents repeatedly targeting both civilians and military formations. What started as Boko Haram has since evolved into multiple factions, including the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which is linked to the Islamic State (ISIS). ISWAP intensified its attacks in 2025 when it launched what it described as the “camp Holocaust” — a strategic campaign aimed at weakening the operational capacity of security forces by targeting military positions. The onslaught has led to the killing of more senior officers.
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Many top-quality officers have been lost over the years. They include DAHIRU CHIROMA BAKO (2020), a colonel under Operation Lafiya Dole, was ambushed near Wajiroko in Borno state in September 2020. He later died from injuries sustained in the attack despite undergoing surgery at a military hospital. Z. MANU (2020), a lieutenant colonel, was killed in September 2020 during an operation in Katsina state. He died after bandits ambushed his team in Unguwar Doka village in Faskari LGA. DZARMA ZIRKUSU (2021), a brigadier general and commander of the 28 Task Force Brigade in Chibok, was killed in November 2021. He died alongside other soldiers in an ISWAP ambush in Askira Uba, Borno state.
COL ALIYU SAIDU PAIKO (2025) was killed by Boko Haram fighters when he was the commanding officer of the 202 Battalion in Bama LGA, along with other soldiers. MUSA UBA (2025), a brigadier general, was killed near Wajiroko in Borno state in 2025 after ISWAP fighters ambushed troops along the Damboa–Wajiroko road. UMAR IBRAHIM MAIRIGA (2026) killed on March 1, 2026, when fighters linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked a military formation in Mayenti, Bama LGA, killing Umar Ibrahim Mairiga, the commanding officer, and several soldiers. The assault targeted a base near Bama town.
S.I. ILIYASU (2026). On 6 March, insurgents carried out coordinated attacks on multiple military positions across Borno state, including Konduga, Mainok, Jakana, and Marte, between 10 pm and 3 pm the following day. During the offensive, S.I. Iliyasu, a lieutenant colonel and commanding officer of the 222 Battalion, was killed in an attack on a major base in the Konduga area. UMAR FAROUQ (2026). On March 9, 2026, insurgents overran a military base in the Kukawa LGA of Borno state, killing Umar Farouq, a lieutenant colonel, along with several soldiers.
What is disturbing is that it is the men and officers of the Nigerian army that are under siege and not the insurgents. Sadly, our troops are not getting enough state-of-the-art armaments and equipment to enable them win the war. Civilians are of course the biggest victims. According to Amnesty International, at least 1,100 people were abducted across northern Nigeria between January and April 2026, warning that the scale and pattern of the attacks reflect a deepening security crisis and a failure of authorities to protect vulnerable communities. The organisation said those abducted are often subjected to extreme violence and inhumane conditions. “Those abducted are frequently subjected to torture, starvation, amputation, rape, and forced to witness or commit atrocities.” The group noted that the abductions, largely driven by ransom demands, have become widespread across rural communities and camps for internally displaced persons.
While the entire country is unravelling due to the atrocities being committed by non-state actors who are massacring citizens and security personnel alike, the focus of government has been using the judiciary and the electoral commission to cause confusion within political parties to block them from contesting next year’s election. It is unfortunate that there is insufficient focus on addressing the multiple security, economic and political challenges facing the country. Continuing with this laissez-aller attitude raises the risk of system collapse that can do no good to the Nation and the people. President Tinubu should focus on saving the Nation rather than being obsessive on presiding over its ruins forever.
A Professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.
