The bloodthirsty terrorists have gruesomely murdered no fewer than six military commanders in active service and one Retired Major General since January this year, 2026, as insecurity escalates in Nigeria.
The fight against insurgency has turned deadlier recently with a sharp rise in killings and abduction for ransom, signaling no end to the decade-long national crisis, reports said.
Military officers and commanders are also not left out in the targeted strikes by the assailants as innocent civilians are being murdered on a relatively daily basis.
On 16th February, 2026, Boko Haram fighters attacked the Mandaragirau community in the Biu Local Government Area of Borno State, killing Lt. Col O.C. Okolo.
In April 2026, he was buried in his home town, Obinofia Ndiuno, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
One month after the death of Colonel O.C. Okolo, on March 1, 2026, the armed militants killed Maj. U.I. Mairiga the Commander, Mayenti base in Borno State.
Another top military commander, Lieutenant Colonel S.I. Iliyasu paid the ultimate price on March 6, 2026 when Boko Haram fighters attacked a Battalion in Konduga area of Borno State.
Similarly, on March 9, Lieutenant Colonel Umar Farouq was killed in another deadly attack by Boko Haram insurgents on a military base in Borno State.
The killing continued in April when Colonel I.A. Mohammed, the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Army’s 242 Battalion in Monguno, Borno State was also murdered in active service on April 13, 2026.
It also recalls that Brig. Gen. Oseni Omoh Braimah was shot dead by members of the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP terror group on April 9.
The latest sad news was the death of Retired Maj-Gen Rabe Abubakar.
Though he did not die in active service, the Retired General died in the forest after he was abducted by terrorists in Katsina State.
He was abducted along with his wife on May 30, along the Marabar Musawa-Kafinsoli road in Matazu Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Rabe was last seen in a video where his captors demanded the release of some bandits and the seizure of livestock, it was reported.
In the four-minute, two-second video that has been circulating on social media, the couple were seen standing and relaying the demands of their captors.
In the video, the widow said the abductors demanded the release of three of their members, namely, Sani, Aminu and Nasiru.
She said that two of the detained persons were arrested in Jikamshi and the third in Kano.
She also appealed to the Katsina State Government and the leaders of five local government areas to assist in meeting the demands to ensure their release.
But in a statement on Saturday, Rabe died of complications of diabetes and hypertension, said Nasiru Mu’azu, Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs in Katsina.
Nigerians react: Nobody is safe
Social media on Saturday was flooded with posts from concerned Nigerians, who expressed deep 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 former general and commented on the larger problem of insecurity in the country.
Peter Obi: ‘We can’t go on like this’
The 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 is clear that our nation is facing a grave security emergency”.
Obi called on the Federal Government and security agencies to go beyond the rhetoric and adopt a more proactive, intelligence-driven, technology-based and coordinated approach to tackling insecurity.
“Nigeria must strengthen its security architecture, improve intelligence gathering, secure our borders, equip and motivate our security personnel, and ensure that those responsible for these heinous crimes are apprehended and brought to justice,” he said.
It has become a national calamity – Sam Amadi
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Sam Amadi said the deteriorating security situation of the country is becoming a national tragedy, citing the killing of other top military personnel.
Describing the unfortunate development as a sad event, Amadi 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 often to be a national disaster.
“The Nigerian government can only do propaganda and arrest political enemies and activists”.
David Mark laments: Nigerians now at risk in their own country
Senator David Mark, National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, said 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, noted that “insecurity has continued to escalate for over a decade, affecting every segment of society”.
He called on Nigerians to join hands in the fight against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of criminality that are threatening the peace and stability of the country.
President Bola Tinubu, in a statement issued Saturday night by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga, said that while the terrorists had “done their worst”, the government would never bow to their demand to release their members held by our security agencies.
Tinubu reiterated that “bandits, kidnappers, and sponsors of terror should now surrender or face the full force of the Nigerian State.
“Those windows of surrender won’t stay open forever. “And there will be no mercy for those trading in the blood of Nigerians”
