Eight months ago, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle and service chiefs vowed to see the end of insecurity in the north.
However, insecurity has persisted in the northern region despite the vow by FG to end security issues in the region.
In August 2024, Matawalle, vowed to bring an end to insurgency and killings in the north-west, assuring the public of the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts.
Speaking during his comprehensive security assessment tour of Sokoto State, Matawalle maintained that the Federal Government would not relent until peace was restored in the region and, indeed, across Nigeria.
He urged residents to remain vigilant and to cooperate with security agencies, as he did while visiting various local government areas in the state. His tour included villages frequently targeted by violence, such as Turba, Sabon Birni, Hawan Duro, and Mai Lalle, among others.
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Matawalle not only visited these communities but also assured locals of the imminent deployment of additional military personnel to bolster security. He commended troops at the Forward Operating Base in Sabon Birni for their resilience and dedication, pledging prompt attention to their welfare and logistical needs.
The minister reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to restoring peace and security across northern Nigeria, emphasising that the government remained resolute in its efforts.
Also, in September 2024, residents and stakeholders in Sokoto State said the state insecurity received prompt attention after the relocation of Matawalle to the state in a special operation, stakeholders have said.
They said the special operation was to flush out bandits and other criminal elements in the North-West after the minister, along with the nation’s service chiefs and other high-ranking military personnel, therefore, relocated to Sokoto in an operation to rid the region of the menace.
Eight months after these promises, The New Daily Prime assessed the prevailing situation in the region to determine whether the promised deployment of troops and establishment of new military bases had indeed brought hope for a future free from banditry.
This article offers an analysis of ongoing attacks and the responses to insecurity in the region, a crisis that has persisted for several years. Following the minister’s visit and promises, in November 2024, in Mera, Kebbi State, the terror group Lukarawas—linked to the Islamic State—killed 15 people and stole cattle.
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Similarly, on 8 January, armed groups launched a series of coordinated attacks in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State, killing five people and abducting at least 200 others—most of whom were women and children.
This mass abduction followed a spate of recent attacks in the state, the most recent of which occurred on 5 January in Gana town, where at least 46 people were kidnapped.
In addition to these killings, tragedy struck Anka Local Government Area when six members of the state’s Community Protection Guards—known as Askarawa—and four local vigilantes were killed in an ambush by bandits.
The ambush occurred following a successful joint security operation led by the Nigerian Army against criminal elements in Sunke Forest.
In a separate incident in January, at least 21 government-backed fighters were reportedly killed in an ambush by bandits in Katsina State. According to police spokesperson Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, the convoy had been returning from paying condolences to the family of a deceased colleague when it came under fire in Baure village, Safana District.
Moreover, in April 2025, reports from the state indicated that over 50 villagers—mostly women, children, and elderly people—had been abducted in a renewed wave of terrorist attacks.
In addition, a communal clash in Jigawa State left a trail of death and destruction in its wake. The incident took place in the Gidan Nagari community of Jahun Local Government Area, exactly one week after a similar clash in Gululu village.
Also, in Kaduna State, one person was stabbed to death in the Tudun Wada area of the South Local Government Area. The police subsequently arrested twelve suspects who had attacked a mosque.
