Islamic State of West Africa Strikes Chadian Soldiers on Sunday, Raising Regional Vulnerability
By Segun Onibiyo and Stephen Kefas
(Kaduna) Gunshots echoed as more than 40 soldiers were killed and 20 others wounded when Boko Haram invaded Nigeria’s largest military training base, Nagwamase Military Cantonment, located in Kontagora, Niger State, in north-central Nigeria. The base has long served as a key training ground for the Nigerian Army Artillery Corps.
The Niger State House of Assembly sounded the alarm about the takeover of this military facility by the terrorist group Boko Haram, officially known as Jamaat Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād (“Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad”). This Islamist terrorist organization controlled large parts of Northern Nigeria under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau until his death on May 19, 2021 as reported by Douglas Burton for The Epoch Times. Since 2022, several sources report that the current head is Abu Umaimata.
The Nagwamase Military Cantonment, crucial for Nigeria’s military readiness, is located in Kontagora, Niger State. Its capture and occupation has sent shockwaves through the state, highlighting the region’s worsening security situation, according to Newsweek. Besides occupying the training camp, the terrorists have forced approximately 23 farming communities in and around Kontagora and the Mariga local government areas to evacuate due to ongoing violence and fear of attacks, according to a written statement from Abdullahi Isah, a member representing Kontagora II State Constituency.
Isah wrote that Boko Haram has expelled Nigerian soldiers from the area, seized control of the site, and established at least eight separate camps within the vicinity. They are using the location as a stronghold to launch operations.
Lawmakers Scramble to Demand Military to Reclaim Territory
The dire situation was raised during a legislative session on Tuesday, Oct. 29, by Isah, who then a presented amotion of urgent public importance, urging the state government to collaborate swiftly with the military to reclaim the camp and restore safety to the region. The motion was approved.
Isah described how the terrorist groups have turned the military training site into a base, posing a severe security threat to nearby communities. According to Isah, residents have faced frequent and aggressive attacks, with numerous abductions occurring in recent weeks.
“This military camp, once a hub for national security, is now a haven for terrorists,” Isah reported. “Their presence poses a constant threat, endangering the lives of local residents and preventing many displaced people from returning home,” Isah added.
In response, the Niger State House of Assembly has urged the state government to collaborate swiftly with the military to reclaim the camp and restore safety to the region. Lawmakers emphasized the critical importance of securing the training camp not only for the safety of local communities but also for maintaining control over the nation’s vital military infrastructure.
Speaking to Truth Nigeria about the terrorist attack, military expert Paul Iwugiwei expressed alarm, stating, “It is alarming how terrorists could overrun a military base so easily. It reflects a significant failure on the part of our military and formations,” Iwugiewei said.
“We should not appear weak.,” he went on to say. “This attack demonstrates who holds control, which should not be the case. Where are the air force and other formations located in and around to prevent such shame? Are they all asleep? Military authorities should be ashamed of this. It’s a shameful failure that needs thorough investigation and correction.”
Also interviewed by TruthNigeria, large-scale farmer and Kontagora resident Kolo Bago said, “The areas around the military training base used to be among the most secure in the locality. Farmers could farm without major insecurity, and yields were always abundant. With this current attack on the military base in Kontagora, many farms will be abandoned, and communities will relocate due to fear of kidnapping, killings, or forced labor. With the state assembly addressing this, we hope they will intensify efforts to retake the military base and restore order.”
A military source, speaking anonymously, stated, “We will release a statement once we have full details of the situation. We are currently assessing the situation.”
No account of the apparent strategic breach of security has been heard yet from the authorities charged with oversight of military security, including heads of the Defence Intelligence Agency, the Nigerian Intelligence Agency, or National Security Advisor Nuhu Ribadu.
This isn’t the first time terrorists have overrun military bases. On November 18, 2018, Boko Haram reportedly overran an army base in Metele, northeastern Nigeria, resulting in the deaths of over one hundred soldiers and significant looting of military equipment.
U.S. military analyst Scott Morgan texted to TruthNigeria that the facts as we know them suggest that profound breaches of intelligence within the Army base itself or its command staff need to be investigated. “The scale of the attacks is suggestive that the militant groups have agents or sympathizers active in key positions that allows not only for these attacks to occur but hinders the response by the military as well,” Morgan observed.
This attack on a military base also raises questions about the effectiveness of international support for Nigeria’s counterinsurgency operations. With the United States and other Western nations providing military aid and training to Nigeria, incidents like these may prompt a reassessment of such support and its long-term impact on regional stability.
Humiliating Attack in Chad Raises Regional Concern
The setback in Kontagora has to be reviewed in the context of other advances by Boko Haram (“Western learning is forbidden”) in Northcentral Nigeria and the brazen slaughter of 40 soldiers of the Chadian army on the eastern shore of Lake Chad on Sunday, Oct 27.
Voice of America (VOA) reported on Oct. 28 that Boko Haram had walloped the Chadian army with a surprise attack, killing 40 or more soldiers of the respected Chadian military. A presidential memo acknowledged that the attack targeted a base near Ngouboua on the shore of Lake Chad, “tragically leaving about 40 people dead.”
The attack in Chad is likely the work of the Islamic State of West Africa, not Boko Haram, although both insurgencies have claimed allegiance to Islamic State and have similar goals, wrote London-based military analyst David Otto to TruthNigeria. “Both events were high impact and coordinated attacks,” according to Otto. “The success of these operations could embolden these jihadist groups to launch more attacks – thus stretching and straining the military capabilities of both Nigeria and Chad,” Otto wrote.
As Nigeria grapples with these dual setbacks in the war against jihadist terror, the international community closely watches. The recovery and reinforcement of these military bases could have significant implications for counterinsurgency strategies worldwide.
Segun Onibiyo and Stephen Kefas are conflict reporters for Truth Nigeria.
