“No condition,” they say, “is permanent.” But there’s a condition that seems to have become permanent in Nigeria. Many Nigerians felt the country was set to see the end of insurgency when Boko Haram and other terrorists’ groups in north-east Nigeria suffered irresistible decimation from the Nigerian military for most part of 2015. Coming again when Nigerians feel the fight against insurgency should have become history, the latest resurrection of insurgency is an obvious indication that critical gaps exist in the country’s security design.
The recent attacks by insurgents in which the military and Muslim communities from among civilians all suffered painful casualties have, at least, countered and shamed the false claims of those who, over the years, made desperate efforts to politicize, ethicize, or ‘religionize’ all forms of violence and threats that continued to make life and property very unsafe in Nigeria. Anyway, let’s get back to our discourse of the day.
On Thursday, April 9, 2026, Brigadier-General Oseni Omoh Braimah and 17 soldiers paid the supreme price in coordinated attacks by suspected members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) on military formations in Benisheikh, Kaga LGA, as well as Ngamdu and Pulka towns in the Gwoza LGA of Borno State. The late Brigadier-General Braimah was the Brigade Commander of the 29 Task Force Brigade Headquarters in Benisheikh. The insurgents reportedly invaded the three military formations with heavy gunfire and explosives, killing at least 18 soldiers and officers, including the General, and leaving several others critically injured.
Media sources said the brigade commander, his second-in-command and the Imam of the Brigade, as well as several officers and soldiers, were killed in the attack that lasted several hours. Reports also said other security operatives and scores of ISWAP terrorists were also killed during the simultaneous midnight attacks. According to sources, the insurgents reportedly killed motorists and passengers, who were in transit and stopped to pass the night in the town, due to the routine closure of the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road in the evening.
It would be recalled that last month (March, 2026), the Boko Haram fighters ransacked Ngoshe town and launched simultaneous blasts at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) gate, the Maiduguri post office, and the Monday Market in Maiduguri metropolis; killing at least 25 people and injuring several others. At least three commanding officers (Major U.I. Mairiga, who headed the Mayenti base; Lt-Col Umar Faruq, commander of the Kukawa base and the 101 Brigade; and Lt-Col S.I. Iliyasu, who served in Konduga) were lost by the military in early March 2026 in attacks by insurgents at different locations within seven days in Borno State.
The airstrike launched on Saturday April 11, 2026 by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on a weekly market along the Borno–Yobe border reportedly killed over 200 people, mostly traders. The incident, which occurred at Jilli Market, located between Gubio and Geidam LGAs of Borno and Yobe states respectively, was reportedly carried out during a military operation targeting suspected Boko Haram insurgents operating in the area.
While the Air Component of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), through its spokesperson, Sani Uba, said scores of terrorists were neutralised in the strike. Media reports confirmed that 200 civilians were killed in the airstrike. This is not the first time the NAF would bomb civilian populations in error. The repeated incidences of the NAF missing its targets is giving Nigerians a lot of worries. Or is this phenomenon trying to become another permanent condition in the life of Nigerians? In any case, the missing of targets by the NAF as a recurring decimal further suggests a kind of gross professional deficiency that have become characteristic of the Nigerian military operations.
Accidental airstrikes on civilians during military operations in Nigeria have several times resulted in hundreds of deaths. Some of the incidences, for instance, include the March 16, 2014 accidental airstrike in which a misfired bombing targeted at terrorists in Kayamla village, Borno State, led to the deaths of at least 10 civilians. On January 17, 2017, in Rann, Borno State, over 100 people were killed when a jet mistakenly bombed a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Red Cross aid workers distributing food.
In December 2017, at least 35 people were killed and about 3,000 homes destroyed when communities of Shafaron and Nvi in Adamawa State were erroneously struck by the NAF during an operation. A mistaken airstrike in Daglun community, Borno State, led to the death of 20 civilians on February 28, 2018. The same tragedy occurred in Tangaram and Ajia villages in Birnin Magaji LGA of Zamfara State on April 11, 2019, when at least six children were killed and 17 others injured after a raid intended for bandits accidentally hit the villages. Further incidents were recorded in Gajigana and Mainok communities in Borno State on July 2, 2019, and April 25, 2021, resulting in 13 civilian casualties and the deaths of 30 soldiers, respectively.
In April 2020, 17 people were killed in Sakotoku, Borno State, when women and children who gathered under a mango tree were mistakenly struck. In June 2021, a mistaken jet bombardment in Gengu and Argida communities in Niger State struck wedding guests and other civilians. On September 26, 2021, in Kwatar Daban Masara near Lake Chad in Borno State, at least 20 fishermen were mistakenly killed by a military aircraft targeting terrorist camps. In December 2022, Mutumji in the Dausadau Emirate of Maru LGA, Zamfara State, witnessed a mistaken airstrike that killed 64 civilians during an operation targeted at armed groups.
In January 2023, in Doma, Nasarawa State, over 40 herders were killed after being mistaken for bandits in a NAF strike. On December 3, 2023, in Tudun Biri, Kaduna State, a military drone strike killed about 120 people at an Islamic religious gathering. In December 2024, in Gidan Bisa and Rumtuwa communities in Sokoto State, a mistaken airstrike killed 13 civilians despite targeting Lakurawa terrorists. On January 11, 2025, in Dangebe village, Zamfara State, 15 people were killed after civilians were mistakenly identified as bandits and bombed. In June 2025, in Maru LGA, Zamfara State, a military strike mistakenly killed 20 vigilantes during an operation targeted at criminal elements. With this catalogue of incidences, how could anyone refute the claim that accidental airstrikes have since become a permanent condition in Nigeria? The discourse continues next week. May Allah preserve our life till then, Amin.
