NIGERIA’S military has lost 454 soldiers in ambushes between 2019 and 2025, according to a new security report. The survey warns that insurgents and bandits have transformed into a highly coordinated force now capable of hunting down senior military officers.
The report entitled, ‘The Kill Zone,’ describes the six-year period as one marked by “a persistent and deadly campaign of ambushes” nationwide.
Published by SBM Intelligence, the Africa-focused geopolitical research firm, the report says the armed forces are now locked in “a protracted war of attrition,” with insurgents refining their tactics, attacking forward bases, and deploying drones and improvised explosive devices with growing precision.
According to the report, Boko Haram (JAS), Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and heavily armed bandit groups accounted for most ambush incidents, with Borno State alone responsible for over 60 percent of cases.
“The primary perpetrators were Boko Haram (JAS)… and ISWAP, alongside highly active bandit groups,” SBM Intelligence noted, highlighting a “worrying geographic spread of violence” from the North-East and North-West to parts of the South.
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It added that other armed actors, including the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), ethnic militias and unidentified gunmen, have also contributed to a pattern of regular attacks on security personnel across the South-East and South-South regions.
Checkpoints vs explosive-rigged drones
One of the most disturbing trends, the report says, is the increasing sophistication of militant attacks in Nigeria. Insurgent cells now deploy IEDs, commercial drones modified to drop explosives, fake checkpoints, and multi-stage ambushes designed to isolate troops and block reinforcements, the report notes.
Their operations also include destroying bridges, roads and other critical infrastructure to cut off the military’s so-called supercamps, the report added.
A growing number of attacks now target top-ranking officers. Among the high-profile losses are: Brigadier-General Dzarma Zirkusu, killed in an ISWAP ambush near Askira Uba in 2021; a Major and several soldiers, killed in Munya, Niger State, in 2023; and Brigadier-General Uba, ambushed and killed in Damboa, Borno State, in November 2025.
Beyond the North-East, banditry-driven ambushes have become increasingly calculated in the North-West. The report cites the March 2023 killing of 51 vigilantes in Zamfara’s Maru LGA, where an initial attack was staged solely to lure reinforcements into a second, deadlier ambush.
Overstretched troops, low morale
SBM Intelligence warns that despite escalating threats, Nigeria’s military remains overstretched, under-equipped and weighed down by intelligence gaps.
The armed forces “grapple with inadequate equipment… morale is frequently low,” the report noted, citing shortages of mine-resistant vehicles, delayed rotations and persistent welfare concerns.
The breakdown of regional cooperation – including Niger Republic’s withdrawal from the Multinational Joint Task Force – has widened security gaps along Nigeria’s borders, now exploited by terror cells and criminal networks.
A call for a reset
The report calls for an urgent overhaul of Nigeria’s counterinsurgency strategy. It recommends improved intelligence gathering, stronger protection for patrol units, structured partnerships with local defence groups and a revival of regional security alliances.
“With the trajectory of violence deeply concerning, a fundamental strategic review is necessary to counter the evolving tactics of militant groups and stem the significant losses undermining Nigeria’s security and stability.”
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Insecurity in Nigeria
Nigeria is hard hit by insecurity. Between 2017 and May 2, 2020, Fulani herdsmen conducted 654 attacks, killed 2,539 and kidnapped 253 people in Nigeria, according to a report entitled, ‘Fulani Militias’ Terror: Compilation of News (2017-2020).’
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the Nigerian security situation had resulted in a humanitarian emergency, with more than 7.8 million people – approximately 80 percent of whom are women and children – requiring urgent assistance.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released a crime report on December 17, 2024, which it later removed from its website.
But the report had disclosed that Nigerians paid an estimated N2.3 trillion as ransom between May 2023 and April 2024, noting that 65 percent of households affected by kidnapping had to pay ransoms to secure the release of victims. On average, each household paid N2.67 million per incident.
The report further revealed that 51,887,032 crime incidences were experienced by households, with the North-West having 14,402,254 reported cases – highest in the country at the time.
