Nigeria is grappling with a renewed surge in insurgent violence, highlighted by the killing of a senior military officer and 17 other soldiers in an attack on a military base in Benishek, located about 75 kilometers from the Borno State capital, Maiduguri. The incident, which occurred on Thursday, marks the second killing of a high-ranking officer in recent months and signals a worrying resurgence of activities linked to groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Local government and intelligence sources confirmed the assault, amid reports of intensified attacks that have claimed over 90 lives in several villages in recent days, affecting both rural and urban areas.
Dr. Oluwole Ojewale, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, attributed the upsurge to Nigeria’s military being overstretched as it handles multiple unconventional wars across various theaters. According to Dr. Ojewale, the military has increasingly taken on basic internal security roles that should ordinarily be managed by the police, which remains inadequately prepared for the complex challenges facing the country.
“While the military is gaining ground on one hand, terrorist bandits are attacking from other places in this unconventional war,” Dr. Ojewale explained. He noted that recent attacks have grown increasingly brazen, with insurgents not only targeting soldiers but also making off with sophisticated weapons, underscoring the rising scale and nature of the threat.
The expert pointed to a significant disconnect between government efforts and outcomes on the ground. Despite defence spending consuming the lion’s share of the national budget for over a decade, results have fallen short of expectations. Dr. Ojewale highlighted weak policing capacity, gaps in intelligence, and limited success in addressing internal security challenges as key drivers of persistent insecurity.
He described a misplacement of priorities, where the police—designed to handle such routine internal matters as kidnapping for ransom—lack adequate capacity building, armament, and intelligence capabilities. This has forced the military to shoulder responsibilities far beyond its conventional mandate. Additionally, Nigeria’s military-industrial complex has struggled to develop sufficient domestic armaments, leaving the country reliant on external partners who are themselves engaged in conflicts elsewhere.
Dr. Ojewale further complicated the picture by noting Nigeria’s challenging regional environment. The country is surrounded by neighbours also battling terrorism, banditry, and various forms of criminality, making border protection difficult and exacerbating internal vulnerabilities. He emphasized that large-scale attacks often point to failures at the communal level and breakdowns in intelligence gathering.
On potential solutions, Dr. Ojewale stressed the need to empower the police to effectively respond to internal security threats, given their wider numerical spread across the country. He expressed measured optimism about the establishment of state police—long advocated by the president and the national assembly—as a step that could help address challenges at the margins in the short term, even if it is not a complete solution.
“Nigeria is prosecuting this war in the midst of these challenges,” Dr. Ojewale concluded, calling for sustained efforts toward capacity building and intelligence improvements as the nation seeks longer-term resolutions to its security crisis.
