Key Points

• Boko Haram and ISWAP militants overran military bases in Kukawa and Goniri overnight, killing Lt. Col. Umar Farouq and an unspecified number of soldiers.
• Insurgents seized weapons, burned military vehicles, and breached defensive perimeters at multiple locations across Borno and Yobe states.
• Nigeria lost three commanding officers in one week as militants escalated coordinated attacks on military formations and civilian communities.

Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province militants overran two Nigerian military bases in Borno and Yobe states, killing a commanding officer and an unspecified number of soldiers in a series of coordinated nighttime attacks that security sources described as among the most damaging in recent months.

Lt. Col. Umar Farouq, who commanded the 101 Brigade and was directing counter-insurgency operations in the Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, was wounded during the assault on the Kukawa base.

He died before reaching Maiduguri, where he was being transported for medical treatment, multiple security sources said Monday.

“The commanding officer here, Lt. Col. Umar Farouq, and some of his troops have been confirmed dead already, so sad,” a source with direct knowledge of the situation said.

Coordinated Strikes Hit Four Locations Simultaneously

The attacks unfolded overnight between 10 p.m. Sunday and 3 a.m. Monday, with insurgents striking simultaneously at Dalwa, Goniri, Kukawa and Mainok, as well as at a troop position deep inside Sambisa Forest, according to a statement by Lt. Col. Sani Uba, media information officer of the Joint Task Force North East, Operation HADIN KAI.

“The terrorists launched simultaneous assaults from several directions in an apparent attempt to overwhelm troop positions,” Uba said in the statement.

At the Goniri base in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, militants breached the defensive perimeter and engaged troops in what sources described as a fierce battle.

Several military vehicles were destroyed or captured, and the insurgents made off with weapons and ammunition before the fighting ended.

Operation HADIN KAI acknowledged that sections of the defensive perimeters at Goniri and Kukawa were briefly breached and that some structures and vehicles within the bases were damaged, though the military said all locations remained under its control.

“Regrettably, the engagements claimed the lives of some brave and gallant soldiers, including an outstanding officer in Kukawa who paid the ultimate price in defence of our nation,” Uba said.

The military said ground forces, supported by the Air Component, were conducting follow-up operations and that cordon-and-search missions were underway in neighboring communities where wounded militants were suspected to be hiding.

Three Commanding Officers Dead in One Week

The Kukawa base attack was not an isolated incident. Three Nigerian Army commanding officers have been killed in the span of one week.

On March 1, Boko Haram struck the Mayenti base in Bama Local Government Area, killing Maj. U.I. Mairiga. Lt. Col. S.I. Iliyasu, commanding officer of the 222 Battalion in Konduga, was killed days earlier during an attack on his base along with several soldiers under his command.

A military source who asked not to be identified said the scale of losses in recent weeks has been deeply troubling. “Over 100 of our men were killed last week alone. Seems we have lost the war while the army authorities keep deceiving the public,” the source said.

ISWAP Releases Video of Raids, Displays Seized Weapons

ISWAP released a video confirming the attacks on the four Nigerian military camps, showing armed fighters firing while setting parts of a military camp ablaze. Footage also showed a cache of weapons, ammunition, military vehicles and dozens of motorcycles that the group claimed to have seized from the Nigerian Army.

Voices speaking in Hausa and Arabic could be heard in the background, celebrating the operation. The release of the video marked a deliberate propaganda move by the group, intended to project strength and expose weaknesses in Nigerian military defenses.

Civilians Caught in the Crossfire

The attacks on military installations were accompanied by strikes on civilian communities. Boko Haram fighters overran Dalwa, a town in Konduga Local Government Area roughly 20 kilometers from Maiduguri, displacing residents and burning parts of the settlement.

Dalwa had only been resettled in December 2025 as part of the Borno State Government’s post-conflict recovery push, making the attack a blow to reconstruction efforts in the region.

The town of Ngoshe, in Gwoza Local Government Area, also came under assault in a separate incident just days earlier, where an officer and 14 soldiers were reported killed. Security sources said the terrorists remain present in Ngoshe alongside more than 200 civilians.

Sambisa Ambush Adds to Mounting Losses

On March 6, an ambush deep in Sambisa Forest targeted troops attached to the 21 Special Armour Brigade.

Videos circulating online showed lifeless bodies and wounded soldiers receiving treatment in the field, with fellow soldiers holding IV fluid bags as medical personnel worked on the injured.

Lt. Col. Mohammed, a newly promoted officer, was killed on Jan. 26 when insurgents ambushed a troop column he was leading from Maiduguri to Damasak in the Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State, a sign that the attacks have been building in frequency and lethality since the start of the year.

Experts Warn of Deepening Crisis

Security expert and former Department of State Services director Mike Ejiofor said the repeated killing of commanding officers should be of serious concern, noting what it takes to train military officers to that rank.

He said insurgents often operate outside conventional military procedures, making their attacks difficult to predict.

The Nigerian military has for years maintained publicly that the insurgency has been substantially degraded, but the pace and scale of attacks in early 2026 have drawn sharp scrutiny.

The military did not officially confirm casualty figures from the most recent attacks, nor did it respond to requests about the total number of soldiers killed since the beginning of the year.