A new report has revealed that at least 454 Nigerian soldiers were killed in ambushes between 2019 and 2025, amid a sharp escalation in the mode of operation of insurgent and armed group tactics across the country.
A new report by SBM Intelligence, The Kill Zone: A Report on Ambushes Against Nigerian Military and Security Forces (2019-2025), paints a bleak picture of a stretched Nigerian military power as it confronts simultaneous threats in the Northeast, Northwest, and parts of the Northcentral region.
According to the report, most of the deadly ambushes were carried out by Boko Haram’s Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) faction and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which together orchestrated complex, multi-stage attacks involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs), fake checkpoints, and coordinated assaults on military convoys. ISWAP’s consolidation of territory in Borno State enabled it to refine its operational strategies, including isolating “super camps” by destroying key bridges and access routes.
The report comes as the country has faced a series of attacks including the abduction of over 20 schoolgirls in Kebbi State, the killing of a military general and the killing and kidnapping of churchgoers in Kwara State.
The Northwest also emerged as a major theatre of deadly attacks, with heavily armed bandit groups conducting calculated ambushes against both soldiers and auxiliary forces. One of the deadliest single incidents occurred in Yobe State in March 2020, where 70 soldiers were killed in a Boko Haram ambush.
High-profile losses included the deaths of Brigadier-General Dzarma Zirkusu in 2021 and Brigadier-General Musa Uba in November 2025, both in ISWAP-orchestrated attacks.
It revealed that Borno State remained the epicentre, accounting for over 60 per cent of incidents, warning that spillover from regional conflicts included ISSP-linked Lakurawa group operating across borders.
The report warned that the rising death toll reflects not only insurgent adaptation but also systemic vulnerabilities within Nigeria’s defence operations. These include inadequate armoured protection, morale challenges, intelligence gaps, and weakened regional cooperation following disruptions within the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
As insurgents increasingly deploy drones and other advanced tools, the SBM Intelligence report called for urgent reforms in mobility, surveillance, and welfare to reduce the human cost borne by frontline troops.
SBM Intelligence noted that without a significant strategic overhaul, the pattern of deadly ambushes, already responsible for 454 soldiers’ deaths, may continue to undermine Nigeria’s stability and the morale of its armed forces.