Nigeria Mourns as Terror Attacks Claim Lives of 7 Military Commanders

The bloodthirsty terrorists have gruesomely murdered no fewer than six active serving military commanders and one Retired Major General since January this year, 2026, as insecurity escalates in Nigeria.

The fight against insurgency has recently turned deadlier with a sharp surge in killings and abduction for ransom, signaling no end to the decade-long national crisis, reports said.

While innocent civilians are being murdered on a relatively daily basis, military officers and commanders are not left out in the targeted strikes by the assailants.

On February 16, 2026, Boko Haram fighters attacked the Mandaragirau community in the Biu Local Government Area of Borno State, killing Lieutenant Colonel O.C. Okolo.

He was buried on April 2026 in his home town, Obinofia Ndiuno, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The armed militants killed Maj. U.I. Mairiga the Commander, Mayenti base in Borno State on March 1, 2026, one month after the death of Colonel O.C. Okolo.

Another top military commander, Lieutenant Colonel S.I. Iliyasu paid the supreme price on March 6, 2026 when Boko Haram fighters attacked a Battalion in Konduga area of Borno State.

Likewise, on March 9, Lieutenant Colonel Umar Farouq was killed when Boko Haram insurgents launched another deadly attack on a military base in Borno State.

The killings continued in April, with the murder of Colonel I.A. Mohammed, the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Army’s 242 Battalion in Monguno, Borno State, in active service on April 13, 2026.

Recall also that Brig. Gen. Oseni Omoh Braimah was also shot dead by members of the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP terror group on April 9.

The latest was the pathetic report of Retired Maj. Gen. Rabe Abubakar’s death.

Although he was not killed in active service, the Retired General died in the forest after he was kidnapped by terrorists in Katsina State.

He was abducted with his wife on 30 May along the Marabar Musawa-Kafinsoli road in Matazu Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Rabe was last seen in a video in which his captors demanded the release of some bandits and the seizure of livestock, it was reported.

The couple were seen standing and relaying the demands of their captors in the four-minute, two-second video circulated on social media.

In the video, the widow said the abductors asked for the release of three of their members, Sani, Aminu and Nasiru.

She said two of the detained persons were arrested in Jikamshi, while the third was in Kano.

She also called on the Katsina State Government and the leaders of five local government areas to assist in meeting the demands to ensure their release.

However, Rabe died from complications of diabetes and hypertension, Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs in Katsina, Nasiru Mu’azu, said in a statement on Saturday.

No one is safe – Nigerians react

Social media on Saturday was awash with posts from worried Nigerians, who expressed profound anger over the inability of the government to rescue General Rabe until he died.

After the announcement of Rabe’s death, some political bigwigs took to their X handle to mourn the late general and made comments on the bigger issue of insecurity in the country.

‘We cannot continue like this’ – Peter Obi

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi in a statement on X, said the unfortunate incident was painful, describing the deceased as a “distinguished military officer who contributed a large part of his life to defending Nigeria and protecting its citizens.

“It is tragic that a man who served his fatherland with honour, rose through the ranks of the Nigerian Armed Forces and retired after years of meritorious service would meet such a heartbreaking end at the hands of criminal elements.

“His death is a national tragedy and a sobering indictment of the insecurity that has engulfed our country.

“When traders can no longer safely travel to markets, farmers cannot reach their farms, communities live under the constant fear of attack and even retired senior military officers are not spared from the menace of kidnapping and violent crime, it becomes clear that our nation is facing a grave security emergency”.

Obi urged that the Federal Government and security agencies should go beyond the rhetoric and take a more proactive, intelligence-driven, technology-based and coordinated approach to tackling insecurity.

“Nigeria must beef up its security architecture, improve intelligence gathering, secure our borders, equip and motivate our security personnel and ensure that those behind these heinous crimes are apprehended and brought to justice,” he said.

It has become a national disaster – Sam Amadi

The former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Sam Amadi has said the deteriorating security situation of the country is becoming a national tragedy, citing the killing of other top military personnel.

Amadi described the unfortunate development as a sad event and wondered “why should a retired General be held in the forest for weeks and the Nigerian state cannot rescue him and his wife?

“Where is the competence of the Tinubu government if it cannot save this retired General? It has happened too many times to become a national disaster.

“The Nigerian government can only do propaganda and arrest political enemies and activists”.

David Mark laments: Nigerians now endangered in their own country

Senator David Mark, National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, lamented that Nigerians are now endangered in their own country “due to the persistent threats of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes”.

The former Senate President, in a statement by his media aide, said, “insecurity has continued to escalate for over a decade, affecting every segment of society.

He urged Nigerians to come together to fight terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and all other forms of criminality that are threatening the peace and stability of the country.

President Bola Tinubu in a statement issued on Saturday night by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga said while the terrorists have “done their worst”, the government will never bow to their demand to release their members held by our security agencies.

Tinubu reiterated, “bandits, kidnappers, and sponsors of terror should now surrender or face the full force of the Nigerian State.

“Those windows of surrender will not stay open forever. “And there will be no mercy for those trading in the blood of Nigerians”