Nigerian officials blame protracted insurgency on asymmetric warfare
By Ebere Inyama
( Imo ) Nigeria’s inability to quell insurgency which erupted in the southeastern part of the country in 2021 is because security forces consider the fight against the armed groups as an asymmetric warfare, TruthNigeria has learned.
Speaking during an interview with TruthNigeria, a counter terrorism expert and former Director of the Department of State Security ( DSS), in Imo state, Dr. Wilcox Idaminabo, said it has not been easy to defeat the armed groups responsible for the killing of security operatives and burning of police stations in the southeast because the security agencies are bound by law to refrain from using maximum force while dealing with civilians.
“I personally led the operation against Eastern Security Network (ESN) at their camp in Imo state so I can tell you that what is happening in Imo and in the Southeast generally is an asymmetric warfare and in every asymmetric warfare, it is usually hide and seek, hit and run”, he said during the interview with TruthNigeria.
“It is not easy to wipe out targets in an asymmetric warfare in one fell swoop because these are also citizens and the military would not come out with its might as if it is fighting a war with another country so when terrorists are fighting, they don’t have restraint but security forces are guided by international law,” he added.
Speaking during an official visit to Umuahia, the capital of Abia state on 16 July, 2025, the Commandant General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, Ahmed Abubakar, said acts capable of provoking asymmetric warfare, including attacks on critical national infrastructure are on the increase in Nigeria.
He warned that such acts of economic sabotage, if left unchecked, could have a grave impact on Nigeria’s economy.
Nigerian government count losses as warfare continues
In a statement on 22 June, 2022, the former Nigerian Minister of Justice, Abubarkar Malami, alleged that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) attacked 164 police stations and killed 175 security operatives in the south-east between October 2020 and June 2021.
According to him, one hundred and twenty-eight (128) Police men, thirty-seven (37) military personnel and ten (10) other security operatives were among those killed by the ESN within the period.
In the same vein, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Services, Senator Sunday Karimi, disclosed in April, 2025 that over 50 percent of Nigeria’s revenue has been spent on fighting insurgency in the past few years,
115 civilians killed in the southeast during counter – insurgency operations
In a report published on its website in August, 2021, Amnesty International documented at least 115 persons killed by security forces between March and June 2021 in addition to 52 incidents of unlawful killings and 62 cases of arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and torture.
According to Amnesty International, Nigeria’s government responded with a heavy hand to killings and violence widely attributed to the Eastern Security Network (ESN), also referred to as the armed wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
“The evidence gathered by Amnesty International paints a damning picture of ruthless excessive force by Nigerian security forces in Imo, Anambra and Abia states,” said Osai Ojigho, Country Director at Amnesty International.
Insurgency escalated in the Southeast after killing of ‘Ikonso’
Spontaneous attacks on security personnel and formations took place in Southeast and parts of the South a few days after the deputy commander of Eastern Security Network (ESN), Nwokike Anyinayo, alias ‘Ikonso,’ was killed by Nigeria security forces and since then there have been regular attacks on police stations, army checkpoints as well as killing of security operatives in the southeast, according to a publication by Humangle
“The biggest mistake that the Nigerian state has made since the killing of Mohammed Yusuf, the erstwhile leader of Boko Haram, is the killing of Ikonso the IPOB & ESN Commander. This single act has radicalised IPOB & will have consequences”, wrote a former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani – Kayode, via his X handle.
Security officials allege that ‘Ikonso’ was the mastermind and coordinator of the attack on the Imo Police Headquarters in April, 2021,
and the attack on Owerri correctional facility on April 5, 2021 which led to the escape of 1800 inmates.
According to a police report, Ikonso died alongside six ESN militias during a shootout with a combined force of Police, Department of State Services and the Nigeria Army at the operational headquarters of IPOB in Oru East county of Imo State.
But the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) countered the police report, saying there was no gun battle between Ikonso and the Nigerian forces, rather he was killed in an ambush.
“Contrary to claims by security forces, they were not able to penetrate into the camp of Eastern Security Network ESN, rather hey ambushed Ikonso but we promise them hell for this cowardly act!”, the spokesperson for the IPOB, Emma Powerful, stated in a press release following the death of ‘Ikonso’.
Ebere Inyama is an Imo state – based conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
