RingTrue with Yemi Adebowale, March 17, 2026 yemiadebowale@yahoo.com; 08054699539 (text only)
Dead bodies are still being picked on the streets of Maiduguri, Borno State. Scores of residents are burying loved ones. They were killed by terrorists that struck last Monday March 16. The extremists Boko Haram/ISWAP group bombed the Maiduguri Monday Market and a security post at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, leaving more blood and tears in this bleeding state.
The terrorists are very much alive and kicking. The police say 23 people were killed and 120 injured in the two attacks. If you believe this, you will believe anything. Independent sources put the number at 120 dead and no fewer than 600 injured. Heart-wrenching.
The Maiduguri bombings on Monday is the latest of the heightened terror attacks that have followed the arrival of U.S. troops in Nigeria. They were invited supposedly to help Nigeria tame raging terrorism across our country. No fewer than 250 U.S. military personnel are right now in Nigeria, with the first batch of 100 arriving February 15, 2026. This batch landed at the Bauchi airfield, purportedly to provide training, technical support, and intelligence sharing to Nigerian armed forces.
Some other troops landed in Borno and Kaduna states. According to military sources, US planes, 1x C-17A was deployed in the Kainji Airbase, while others, 3x C-17A and 1x C-130J-30, flew to Maiduguri airbase.
The source said the Maiduguri airbase would be the primary base of operations for supporting the Nigerian army against Boko Haram and ISWAP. He said future deliveries might include at least one or more MQ-9 Reaper drones, attack helicopters and more U.S. troops. The Commander of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Dagvin Anderson, is directly supervising the operations in Nigeria.
We were told that the U.S. troops are here, strictly in advisory roles to combat terrorism and insurgency, not for direct combat. According to the Nigerian military, the U.S. troops, requested by the Nigerian government, aims to bolster the fight against terrorists across our beloved country. Simply rubbish. This type of arrangement is not what Nigeria needs to tame terrorists. Clearly not this claptrap. We need fighters, not instructors.
I have been proved right. Thirty-one days after the arrival of the American troops, the impact of their so-called technical support and intelligence sharing with the Nigerian armed forces are yet to be felt. Terrorists are striking with enhanced venoms. Within 31 days, there were over 100 terror attacks in Borno, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kwara, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Benue, Plateau and Niger states.
No fewer than 500 hapless Nigerian sent to early graves and thousands maimed. The arrival of the Americans motivated the terrorists across Nigeria to increase attacks on hapless civilians and the military, so it seems.
The terrorists still retain the ability to move around easily and kill with ease in any part of Nigeria despite the presence of the American troops who are purportedly providing intelligence to the military. Boko Haram, ISWAP and other terrorists are growing stronger. The bombs detonated simultaneously in Maiduguri last Monday came hours after Boko Haram launched simultaneous attacks on three military positions across the state. The terrorists attacked military outposts in Ajilari, Damboa, and Baga. The number of soldiers and civilians killed in these attacks is frightening.
In the past four weeks, no fewer than 70 soldiers were killed in a series of assaults on military bases in Nigeria. In Borno State, military bases in Jakana, Kawuri, Dalori, Mainok and Marte were attacked. During the March 5 attack on Ngoshe community in Gwoza LGA of Borno State, scores of soldiers and civilians were killed, with no fewer than 100 civilians abducted. The Chief Imam of Ngoshe was also killed. Early on Tuesday March 17, 15 people were killed by terrorists in Falele village, Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Officers are also being killed. Those killed in the attacks include Lt Col Umar Farouk, who died in the attack on Chukka military base on March 9; Lt Col SI Iliyasu, who was killed in the attack on 222 Battalion in Konduga on March 6; Major U. I. Mairiga, who died in the attack on a military base in Mayenti in Bama LGA on March 1; Lt Ismaeel Baba and Maj Segun Amusan killed during the Marte attack. During the attack on the military base in Kukawa LGA of Borno State on March 9, the Commanding Officer was killed.
I have highlighted some of these killings in the last 31 days to show that nothing has changed with the presence of the American troops in Nigeria. I will return to this shortly.
As usual, President Bola Tinubu must have received security briefings on these killings in the last 31 days. Mr. President, the killings are heart-wrenching. It is a stain on your avowal to end terrorism in Nigeria. But, did Mr. President ask the security chiefs why terror attacks are endless in communities they persistently claim to have bombed and decimated hundreds of terrorists?
Mr. President, as the Commander-In-Chief, you should be asking the military chiefs why terrorists are still moving around unhindered, killing and maiming, after stories of successful bombings and decimations. We hardly see the “decimated” terrorist. Shocking! The terrorists they claim to have decimated are still very much alive and active. This is the truth that must be told.
The truth is that our security agencies lack the equipment and manpower for tackling terrorists. Modern warfare is about fighting with drones and missiles. Our security agencies are not in any way close to this fighting capabilities. Our gallant soldiers are doing their best but they need to be assisted. Technology, intelligence, quality equipment and quality manpower are modern necessities for taming terrorists. Our security agents lack these. They obviously lack the capacity to effectively monitor the movement of terrorists. This is why guerrillas move around in hundreds undetected. They also lack effective leadership.
In this modern era, the military should be talking about dealing with terrorists with drones from a preemptive and properly-staffed control centres. Surveillance with drones and subsequent drone strikes are necessary. Use of drones for intelligence gathering and attacks is vital in modern warfare. Also, emphasis is always on the use of bulletproof attack helicopters instead of the vague airstrikes by our security agents. With steel-clad attack helicopters that can go as low as 50 metres to the target, precision is guaranteed. Mr. President, our security agents lack all these.
Mr. President, your much-talked about “change” in the war against terrorists remains an illusion. Nigerians are sick and tired of endless killings by terrorists. You must fix insecurity. You must fulfill the commitment you made to Nigerians in your May 29, 2023 inaugural address to frontally and courageously tackle insecurity.
Mr. President, you must seek help from foreign private military contractors that have successfully tamed terrorists if you truly desire to end the killings, maiming and abductions across Nigerians. They will come with their manpower and equipment, and get the job done. These are the soldiers with capacity for precise airstrikes and drone strikes. I always recommend Canadian military contractors.
Back to the arrangement with the Americans, for me, it is a No! No! Rubbish arrangement. They are here to train and provide intelligence to our soldiers? This is balderdash. We don’t need this. No result so far. We may never get any. Nigeria needs military contractors that will come in with their equipment and manpower, and fight these terrorists. Nigeria needs experts to come in, set up centres for drone surveillance with attack capabilities. Modern warfare is more about fighting with drones, missiles and armoured attack helicopters. Mr. President, this is the way to go.
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