May 19, (THEWILL) – After sneaking out of sight under pressure from the Nigerian military for a while, the dreaded Boko Haram and I SWAP insurgents have resumed their murderous activities in Borno and Yobe States in the North-East geopolitical zone, once again.
Last weekend, the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, raised the alarm that the terrorists, who have indeed intensified their activities in the state, were on the verge of taking over a whole local government area in the state. According to him, Marte Local Government Area had almost been taken by the terrorists but for one out of the 300 towns and villages that composed it.
Imagine how the governor feels at the moment, knowing that the LGA, which for some reason appears to be of great importance to the state, could very well sip off his hands if nothing is done immediately to keep it from falling to Boko Haram or ISWAP.
Zulum appealed to the Federal Government to intervene and save Marte from Boko Haram and ISWAP.
A few days ago, a report said that no fewer than 152 security operatives, including soldiers, police officers and members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were killed between January 2 and May 13, 2025 in attacks by non-state actors across Nigeria. This figure compiled from media reports and data from SBM Intelligence, the report noted, underscored the growing toll of insecurity on frontline personnel in the country.
There seems to be a similar pattern in the attacks carried out by ISWAP and Boko Haram lately, which have also added military bases to the list of targets. In a particularly devastating attack on January 26 in Malam Fatori, Borno State, a suicide bombing reportedly carried out by ISWAP killed 27 soldiers.
Also 10 soldiers lost their lives when Boko Haram launched an attack on a military base in Marte on May 13.
We feel that the casualties on the military’s side have looked too easy and regular for comfort. How come the enemy caught our boys napping so often? Something is not quite right here.
However, we believe it is high time the Nigerian security forces tightened the screws on the war against insurgency. The country cannot afford to lose the war.
Interestingly, the Chief of Defense Staff, Lt. Gen Chris last week said the army has acquired new, sophisticated set of weaponry. In the same week, President Bola Tinubu approved the recruitment of 130,000 Forest Guards nationwide, to be well trained and armed, to secure the country’s 112000 forest reserves. These are comforting news. If implemented to the letter, as we expect they should, these measures will add more firepower to the forces waging war against the terrorists and ultimately defeat the daredevils.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
