“Nigeria’s Security Crisis: The Human Cost of Banditry and Insurgency”
By Dr. Aiyeku Olufemi Samuel
On June 24, 2025, tragedy struck near Bangi in Niger State’s Mariga LGA when armed bandits ambushed and killed at least 20 soldiers in their camp’s predawn attack.
Who takes responsibility?
How can we send men to fight without equipping them properly?
This attack is far from isolated. Since mid-2022, Nigeria has lost hundreds of service members to similar ambushes:
* Shiroro Ambush (June 2022): 34 soldiers killed, along with policemen and civilians.
* Birnin Gwari Base (April 2022): 17 soldiers killed by the Ansaru group.
* Mainok Attack (April 2021): 33 soldiers killed by ISWAP.
* In the past three years across northeast and northwest zones, hundreds more soldiers, officers, and vigilantes have fallen victim to ambushes.
How long will we accept such losses while soldiers continue to go to frontline duty with inadequate arms, training, and intelligence?
As the saying goes, “sending men to battle without preparation is a murder of hope.”
This is not just a military failure—it is a societal tragedy. Each body bag returning home fractures families, sows fear in communities, and chips away at national morale. When society fractures, when leadership fails, and values like loyalty and trust decay, the vacuum is filled with violence.
What are the root causes?
* Greed, corruption, and governance failure — public assets are looted, while public servants are underpaid and under-equipped.
* Religious leaders often preach division rather than unity.
* Parents and communities sometimes normalize violence, disengaging youth from ethical grounding.
* Leadership failure at all levels
“If the head rots, the whole body suffers”; yet no one takes responsibility before the next attack.
What must the government and President Tinubu do now?
• Provide frontline troops with modern weaponry, reliable intelligence, and advanced training
• Recruit, train, and support local vigilante groups as auxiliary forces
• Urgently improve military welfare: housing, healthcare, compensation for families of the fallen
• Engage faith-based organizations to lead community reconciliation and resilience efforts
Security isn’t just guns and camps—it’s education, employment, and trust.
How many more camps must fall before we invest in schools, roads, vocational skills, decent public servants, and dialogue?
“To win hearts,” said a retired general once, “you must first feed minds.” Until we tackle root causes—governance collapse, community despair, youth marginalization—we will lose territories and lives to unrest.
This latest massacre is not just a tragedy—it is a national alarm. Nigeria owes her fallen soldiers more than hollow words. We owe them preparedness, strategy, and honour.
Dr. Aiyeku Olufemi Samuel
Co-Founder & Lead Consultant, Global Human Capital & Energy Management
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