Daily Trust Editorial, July 2, 2025
The killing of soldiers and other security agents continues unabated, and their gory images are now widespread. On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, bandits, in a threepronged attack, targeted the Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in the general areas of Kwanar-Dutse Mairiga and Boka, Niger State, and Anguwan Turai, Chikun LGA in Kaduna State. Though land and air component troops launched several counterattacks in the day-long battles, some gallant warriors were Killed in Action (KIA) while others were Wounded in Action (WIA) and currently receiving treatment for their wounds.
Army spokesman, Lt-Col Appolonia Anele, confirmed that 17 soldiers paid the supreme sacrifice during gunfire exchange with about 300 armed bandits at KwananDutse while 10 others were injured.
Earlier on June 23, in Chida village of Fakai, Shinkafi LGA of Zamfara State, 13 personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS), 10 hybrid personnel of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and three private collaborators were killed during a deadly ambush by bandits, while others sustained injuries.
On Friday, January 25, 2025, terrorists launched a desperate Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device attack on troops at Timbuktu Triangle, a notorious hotspot for terrorist activity in the North East in Borno State, killing the Commanding Officer (CO) of 149 Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Lt. Col Thomas Ebisingha Alari, and 21 of his gallant soldiers.
On January 16, troops returning from the Dumba region, East of the Lake Chad Basin were ambushed by Boko Haram terrorists, killing an unconfirmed number of soldiers.
And last year, when the resurgence of killings started, 59 soldiers paid the supreme sacrifice.
We at the Daily Trust believe that the ambush and killing of defence and security personnel by terrorists and bandits have become too frequent and embarrassing and demand urgent change of tactics and strategy. The cutting down of Nigeria’s promising, young security forces in their prime has become a source of concern and must stop.
We, therefore, insist that perpetrators of heinous acts of ambushing, attacking or killing soldiers and other personnel must be tracked down and brought to justice. None should be allowed again to escape accountability for their nefarious actions.
Furthermore, we call on the military and other agencies to mobilise their assets and take the war into the camps, hideouts and bases of the terrorists and bandits. And as they do so, there should be deployment of surveillance technological gadgets which ensures that any enemy movement or deployment is detected on time and nipped in the bud. This is very important as there must be an eye on the real enemies of the people as the troops mobilise into their camps and hideouts to stratify them before they perpetuate their evil acts.
We also call for actionable plan to encircle and eliminate the armed groups who operate from camps hidden within the vast forest network that spans from Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states as they are responsible for the mass abductions, killings and ambush of troops and other security personnel.
Moreover, Daily Trust insists that all operations or movements should be collaborative, putting an end to solo agency operations because of their high-risk nature. And in all the joint operations involving the Nigerian Army, Navy or Air Force, DSS, CJTF, other agencies and local communities, there must be full-spectrum support, including Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, air support, casualty evacuation plans, and other fallback protocols.
These future missions must be better coordinated in order to yield expected, sustainable results and prevent tragic losses.
Most importantly, we believe that the sanctity of Nigeria is assaulted by the killing of any security force. And this becomes more disheartening when the gory photographs and videos of the dead keep popping up in the media. We, therefore, call for clear rules of engagement such that the process of posting photographs, videos and text on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter (X), Snapchat, Telegram, YouTube, and LinkedIn from operational areas, especially the frontlines, should be streamlined and regulated.
The propensity and apparent rush to share or publish these videos or photographs are appalling, as some are published even before the official notification of the families of fallen heroes. The dead in combat deserve dignity and respect, including the nondisplay of their dismembered bodies. We also demand that soldiers who share such photographs or videos of KIA or WIA be fished out and reprimanded.
The Defence Headquarters Policy on the Use of Social Media for the Armed Forces of Nigeria, signed on June 11, 2018, should be implemented. Part of it states: “Personnel should not post their pictures or those of their colleagues in military uniforms, or pictures containing military structures, platforms and other military-related items.”
We also call on media houses to exercise more restraint and be more circumspect in publishing such images. Both the killings and quick publications of their images are repugnant. What our troops require is maximum support in addition to the provision of required ordnance and personnel. This is the sure way to stop these gruesome killings.