The ongoing insurgency in Nigeria’s North-East has claimed the lives of three Nigerian Army commanding officers within a week, underscoring the heightened risks faced by troops battling Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Borno State.
The officers, who were in charge of key forward operating bases, were killed in separate attacks on military formations between March 1 and March 9, highlighting the renewed intensity of insurgent assaults on security positions across the region.
Security sources say the deaths form part of a troubling pattern that has seen several senior military officers killed in the theatre of operations in recent months.
With the latest incidents, at least seven commanding officers and a brigadier general have reportedly lost their lives during operations in the North-East within the last three months.
The officers recently killed include Major Umar Ibrahim Mairiga, the commander of the forward operations base in Mayenti, Bama Local Government Area; Lieutenant Colonel Umar Faruq, who headed the military base in Kukawa under the 101 Brigade; and Lieutenant Colonel S.I. Iliyasu, commanding officer of the 222 Battalion in Konduga.
All three officers were leading troops in some of the most volatile locations in Borno State, where insurgents frequently launch attacks on military formations and nearby communities.
The most recent incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, March 9, when insurgents carried out a coordinated assault on a military base in Kukawa Local Government Area.
Sources familiar with the attack said heavily armed fighters stormed the town around midnight, launching an offensive from several directions in an apparent attempt to overwhelm the troops stationed there.
During the assault, Lt-Col Umar Faruq and several soldiers were killed while defending the base.
“They came in from multiple directions and attacked the military camp. The troops were dislodged and some vehicles were set ablaze while ammunition was taken away,” a security source said.
Although the exact number of casualties has not been officially confirmed, the spokesman for the Joint Task Force (North-East), Operation Hadin Kai, Lt-Col Sani Uba, acknowledged that a senior officer was killed during the attack.
He described the fallen officer as a courageous soldier who died in the line of duty.
The incident came weeks after troops under the command of the late Lt-Col Faruq had successfully repelled a similar attack on the same base, killing several insurgents.
That earlier defence had drawn praise from residents of Kukawa and surrounding communities.
In a video that circulated widely on social media at the time, the member representing Kukawa in the Borno State House of Assembly, Karta Maina Ma’aji Lawan, was seen congratulating soldiers after the successful operation.
However, the renewed insurgent assault ultimately proved fatal for the officer.
Earlier in the month, on March 1, Major Umar Ibrahim Mairiga was killed during an attack on the forward operations base at Mayenti in Bama Local Government Area.
Security sources said the officer and his troops mounted a fierce resistance against the insurgents before he was eventually overwhelmed.
“The commander fought bravely and inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers before he was overpowered,” a source familiar with the incident said.
The source added that several weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns, were later recovered from the battlefield alongside the bodies of slain insurgents.
Major Mairiga had reportedly been posted to the Mayenti base less than four months earlier following a special promotion.
Days later, on March 6, another commanding officer, Lt-Col S.I. Iliyasu, was killed during a separate insurgent attack in Konduga.
The officer, who commanded the 222 Battalion, died alongside several soldiers during the assault.
Reports indicate that personnel attached to the 21 Special Armoured Brigade were among those killed during the encounter, including a lieutenant.
Security analysts say the killings are part of a broader wave of insurgent attacks targeting military formations in Borno State.
Within the last three months, commanding officers stationed in locations such as Damasak, Kukawa and Bama have also reportedly been killed during clashes with insurgents.
The attacks have taken place even as the Nigerian military intensifies operations across key insurgent strongholds, including the Sambisa Forest, the Timbuktu Triangle, the Mandara Mountains and the Lake Chad Basin.
Military authorities say these operations have led to the destruction of several terrorist camps and the killing of numerous insurgent fighters and commanders.
Despite these gains, insurgent groups have continued to launch sporadic assaults on military formations and civilian settlements.
Reacting to the development, security expert and former Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mike Ejiofor, said the killing of senior officers should be a matter of serious concern.
“That should be worrying when you consider the level of training and resources required to produce military officers,” he said.
Ejiofor noted that insurgent groups often rely on unconventional tactics that make their attacks difficult to anticipate.
“They strike unexpectedly and from different directions, but our military will eventually overcome them,” he said.
He added that continued military pressure, combined with improved intelligence gathering, would remain critical to defeating insurgency in the region.
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