– By Ogbuefi Ndigbo
In the annals of Nigeria’s long war against insurgency, few periods have witnessed such a concentrated hemorrhage of senior military talent as the last three years under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. While his administration trumpets “renewed hope” and boasts of neutralized terrorists, the grim reality on the ground tells a different story: a Nigerian Army bleeding out its finest field commanders in ambushes, base overruns, and IED strikes. These are not faceless casualties they are battle-hardened officers with decades of service, men who led from the front in the unforgiving theater of Borno and beyond. Their deaths expose a leadership in Abuja that appears either incompetent, indifferent, or complicit in a system that continues to sacrifice its protectors while politicians “soirée and party hard,” as one grieving voice put it.
A Roster of Tragedy: Senior Officers Lost Under Tinubu
The following is a partial but devastating list of confirmed senior commissioned officers killed in action or related incidents since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, with the sharpest spike in 2025–2026:
Brigadier General Musa Samaila Uba (November 14, 2025): Commander, 25 Task Force Brigade. Ambushed by ISWAP in the Damboa/Wajiroko area of Borno while on patrol with CJTF elements. Captured and executed by insurgents, marking one of the highest-profile losses in years. President Tinubu himself expressed being “depressed” by the tragedy.
Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Saidu Paiko (October 17, 2025): Commanding Officer, 202 Tank Battalion. Killed in a Boko Haram ambush in the Kashimri area of Bama LGA, Borno, alongside several soldiers during a fierce encounter.
Brigadier General Oseni Omoh (O.O.) Braimah (April 9, 2026): Commander, 29 Task Force Brigade. Slain during coordinated ISWAP/Boko Haram night assaults on bases in Benisheikh, Kaga LGA, and surrounding areas. The base was overrun, with significant casualties and equipment losses.
Lieutenant Colonel Umar Farouq (March 9, 2026): Commanding Officer, Kukawa forward base. Killed when insurgents overran the position in Kukawa LGA, Borno, in a midnight assault. He had recently been celebrated for repelling prior attacks.
Lieutenant Colonel S.I. Iliyasu (March 2026): Commanding Officer, 222 Battalion. Fell in attacks on Konduga area bases during the same wave of offensives.
Lieutenant Colonel (or Major) Umar Ibrahim Mairiga (March 1, 2026): Commanding Officer, Mayenti base, Bama LGA. Killed in an ISWAP assault.
Retired Major General Rabe Abubakar (rtd) (Died June 13, 2026, in captivity): Former Director of Defence Information. Abducted by bandits in Katsina on May 30 alongside his wife; died from complications of diabetes and hypertension despite rescue efforts. A symbolic national loss, even if not combat-related.
Additional reports document the deaths of other camp commanders (including a Major in Damasak), colonels, and mid-level officers in Monguno, Malam-Fatori, and other hotspots, often via IEDs or base assaults. Early 2026 alone saw more senior officer deaths than many full years prior, with at least six terrorism-related losses by April.
These men represented 20 to 35 years of institutional knowledge wasted in a conflict that refuses to end.
The Tinubu Government’s Catalogue of Failure
This is not mere misfortune. It is the bitter fruit of a security architecture marked by opacity, alleged procurement graft, inadequate logistics, and political interference that has left troops vulnerable. Under Tinubu, insurgents have repeatedly overrun “super camps” and forward bases, exploiting intelligence failures and poor troop welfare. The same government that claims thousands of terrorists neutralized watches its brigade and battalion commanders men not easily accessible on “a random day” picked off with alarming regularity.
Compare this to predecessors: While Buhari and Jonathan eras saw horrific losses, the concentrated decimation of senior leadership in Tinubu’s first three years is alarming. Yet the response from Aso Rock remains ritualistic condolences, vague vows of “crushing terrorism,” and deflection. No sweeping independent inquiry into these command failures. No accountability for why experienced officers keep dying in preventable ambushes. Instead, the narrative spins toward “desperation” of enemies who somehow retain the capacity to target generals.
Worse, persistent whispers of corruption in arms deals, ghost contracts, and compromised elements within the system fuel legitimate public suspicion. When senior officers fall with such frequency, it raises uncomfortable questions about whether “those in power” are truly invested in victory or merely managing an endless gravy train of insecurity funding. Nigeria cannot afford this level of attrition. The military’s institutional memory erodes, morale plummets, and recruitment becomes harder as families watch the best and bravest sacrificed on the altar of incompetence.
A Nation Demands Better
The heroes of Nigeria are indeed no more not because they lack courage, but because a government has failed to match their sacrifice with competent stewardship. Tinubu’s administration must face the mirror: intensified operations, better equipment, transparent probes into losses, and genuine welfare reforms are non-negotiable. Empty rhetoric and photo-ops will not resurrect these fallen commanders or protect those still in the trenches.
Nigeria mourns. The blood of Brig. Gens. Uba and Braimah, Lt. Cols. Farouq, Iliyasu, Paiko, Mairiga, and others cries out from Borno’s battlefields. Until the Tinubu government demonstrates real resolve beyond press releases the cycle of slaughter will continue, and the nation’s finest will keep paying the ultimate price for political failure. Enough is enough.
This is an opinion piece reflecting widespread frustration among security analysts, military families, and concerned citizens. The sacrifices of these officers deserve eternal honor.
