The Nigerian military has suffered a significant setback in its counter-insurgency efforts, losing at least three commanding officers in separate attacks by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants across Borno State within a seven-day period ending March 9, 2026.
The incidents, which targeted forward operating bases in high-risk areas, have raised the tally of senior officers killed in the past three months to seven, including one brigadier general, according to security sources and media reports.
The losses underscore the persistent and evolving threat from insurgents despite intensified military operations in hotspots such as Sambisa Forest, the Timbuktu Triangle, Mandara Mountains, and the Lake Chad Basin.
The most recent attack occurred in the early hours of Monday, March 9, when ISWAP fighters overran a military base in Kukawa Local Government Area around 12:30 a.m. Lt-Col Umar Faruq, the commanding officer of the base and associated with the 101 Brigade, was killed along with several soldiers.
Insurgents reportedly assaulted from multiple directions, dislodging troops, setting vehicles ablaze, and looting ammunition. The Joint Task Force (North-East) Operation Hadin Kai confirmed the death of a "gallant officer" in the Kukawa engagement without naming him initially, while noting that troops eventually repelled the attackers with air support, inflicting heavy casualties and recovering abandoned weapons including PKT machine guns, AK-47s, RPGs, and mortar bombs.
Lt-Col Faruq had previously earned praise from local residents and a state assembly member for repelling an earlier assault on the same base last month, with celebrations captured in viral videos highlighting his role in restoring relative stability to the community.
Just days earlier, on March 6, Lt-Col S.I. Iliyasu, Commanding Officer of the 222 Battalion in Konduga, was killed alongside other personnel, including a lieutenant from the 21 Special Armoured Brigade—during a Boko Haram ambush.
The wave began on March 1, when Major Umar Ibrahim Mairiga (U.I. Mairiga), commander of the Mayenti forward operations base in Bama Local Government Area, died in a fierce but ultimately overwhelming assault.
A security source described how the major fought valiantly, killing many insurgents before being overpowered after some troops reportedly fled. Reinforcements later recovered enemy weapons and bodies. Major Mairiga had been specially promoted and deployed to the base less than four months prior.
These incidents form part of a broader surge in coordinated attacks, including simultaneous strikes on multiple bases in areas like Dalwa, Goniri (Yobe), Mainok, and deep in Sambisa Forest between March 8 night and March 9 morning. While the military reports repelling most assaults with significant insurgent losses, some defensive perimeters were briefly breached, structures and vehicles damaged, and civilian communities affected, such as recent displacements in resettled areas like Dalwa.
Security analysts and former officials have expressed alarm over the targeting of senior officers. Mike Ejiofor, a former DSS director, called the trend "worrying" given the extensive training required for such personnel. He attributed insurgents' unpredictability to their unconventional tactics and urged short-term reliance on credible civilian intelligence alongside long-term reforms, including state police via constitutional amendments, to combat terrorism more effectively.
Operation Hadin Kai's media officer, Lt-Col Sani Uba, confirmed the multi-front engagements in a statement, emphasizing that all locations remain under military control and that follow-up cordon-and-search operations are underway to pursue fleeing terrorists.
The military continues to report successes in degrading insurgent capabilities through ground offensives and air strikes, though insurgents appear to intensify efforts possibly to assert presence ahead of future political developments.
The attacks highlight ongoing challenges in Nigeria's 17-year fight against insurgency in the Northeast, where Boko Haram and ISWAP exploit terrain, border porosity, and asymmetric warfare to sustain operations despite military pressure.
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