A new security report by SBM Intelligence has revealed that no fewer than 454 Nigerian soldiers were killed in ambushes between 2019 and 2025, demonstrating the escalating dangers faced by frontline troops and the deepening complexity of Nigeria’s security crisis.
The report titled “The Kill Zone: A report on ambushes against Nigerian military and security forces (2019 – 2025)”, warns that Nigeria is facing a more sophisticated, geographically expanding, and deeply entrenched insurgency than previously acknowledged.
According to the findings, the Nigerian military and other security agencies, already spread thin across two-thirds of the country, have been pulled into a “persistent and deadly campaign of ambushes,” particularly in the Northeast and Northwest.
These coordinated assaults have also claimed the lives of police officers, Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) members, and other operatives involved in counterinsurgency operations.
SBM Intelligence traces the rising fatalities to the activities of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), the main Boko Haram faction, and its more organised splinter, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The report also notes the increasingly violent role of armed bandit groups across the Northwest and Northcentral regions.
Borno still the epicentre of violent ambushes
The report notes that Borno State accounted for over 60% of all ambush incidents recorded within the period. ISWAP, now considered the more structured and strategically capable of the Boko Haram factions, has tightened its territorial control across Borno and the Lake Chad Basin region.
In parallel, the Northwest has emerged as a new frontline, with banditry escalating sharply from 2020 onward.
Zamfara, according to the report, has become the centre of this violence, while Katsina is flagged as a major hotspot.
The porous borders in the region have also enabled spillovers from other conflict zones, including incursions from groups linked to the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) and the notorious Lakurawa faction, the report stated.
SBM Intelligence warns that Boko Haram and ISWAP have significantly refined their combat methods.
One of the most significant losses cited in the report was the killing of Brigadier-General Dzarma Zirkusu in a deadly ambush near Askira Uba, Borno State, in November 2021—an attack that underscored the growing boldness and lethality of insurgent factions.
The SBM said further, “Ambushes against Nigerian security forces between 2019 and 2025 are indicative of a sustained and adaptive insurgency that has evolved from a fight for territorial control to a protracted war of attrition. Despite some military gains, asymmetric attacks remain a severe and escalating threat. The convergence of ideological extremism with criminal motives makes the conflict increasingly complex and difficult to resolve.”
What you should know
In June, Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum donated N100 million in support of wounded soldiers and the families of officers killed in the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the state.
Zulum was said to have presented a cheque for N100 million to the Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu, in December 2024, proposed an allocation of N4.91 trillion for defence and security in the 2025 fiscal year, making it the largest single expenditure in the fiscal plan.
