The Trouble With Anti-terror War -By Pius Mordi

On the eve of D-Day June 6, 1944, Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces wrote to the thousands of troops enroute to landing at the French coast of Normandy for the emancipation of Europe from Nazi conquest and occupation. He told his soldiers in a letter that the task they are about to undertake will not be easy. “Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely”. But he quickly added that he is wholeheartedly confident in their ability to push back Hitler’s army. “I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!” The Allied commanders preceded the landing by providing just about everything needed – armaments, logistics, backups – to army.

As Eisenhower had forewarned, the battle against the entrenched Nazi forces was the bloodiest the world had ever seen, but the successful landing on Normandy effectively marked the defeat of Hitler from the western theatre during World War II.

One thing is not in doubt: Nigerian soldiers are men of valour, competent and the best available anywhere in the world. The issue is the quality of command and strategy available to the troops. Globally, Nigeria’s armed forces have distinguished themselves in sterling fashion in the numerous theatres they have had to operate in. From the Congo to Liberia and Sierra Leone, our troops have won global acclaim with their professionalism and commitment to duty.
With such history of professionalism, it is logical to ponder why the war against terror is not only prolonged but spreading and getting more scary. What started from Borno State under a seemingly charismatic pseudo-religious Salafist preacher, Mohammed Yusuf, and focused on opposing Western education and culture in 2002 has not only endured long after the founder was eliminated but has spread across Nigeria.

It is not known the sort of pep talks and support our soldiers get in their continuous battle against terror from their commanders. But what the Defence Headquarters told Nigerians in the wake of the coordinated abduction of 39 school children and seven teachers in three schools in Oriire, Oyo State on May 15, 2026, may be a pointer. While the heavily armed terrorists have the audacity to hold the hostages and send out videos shot in their location for almost three weeks, Michael Onoja, a major general and Director of Defence Media Operations, denied reports that terrorist groups have established permanent operational bases or camps in Oyo State. He described recent kidnappings and attacks—specifically those targeting schools in the Oriire Local Government Area— as “isolated criminal acts” rather than evidence of an entrenched or structured terrorist network in the region. That was precisely how Yusuf’s activities were classified when he started in 2002. After the havoc Boko Haram and other Islamist groups have wreaked across the country as they spread, minimising the impact, effectiveness and shooting power of the killers may be counterproductive to troops. For the civil population, they know enough not to be taken in by the Defence Headquarters classification of the terrorists.

After Boko Haram terrorists threatened rounds of fresh attacks in a viral letter, residents of Ira, Inaja and Aho communities in Oyun Local Government of Kwara State did not need to wait further. They fled their homes.

Over the years, the default strategy of planners of anti-terrorism operations have revolved around holding positions to stem attacks by the gunmen. Thus, stories of success by the military are more often than not all about how attacks by the gunmen who are often well armed and motivated were beaten back. Such success stories even include outposts where the the troops are asked to await attacks and fight them off. Of course, when the attackers are beaten back, they retire to their safe havens to improvise better strategies.

Our troops should not be made to just wait as buffers between the insurgents and communities. The fight should be taken to their seeming safe havens where they can be decimated. Military strategies for combating terrorism rely on a multi-faceted approach that integrates intelligence operations, specialized force deployments, and non-combat civil initiatives. These frameworks aim to systematically degrade insurgent capabilities while addressing the socio-economic and political conditions that fuel radicalization.

While the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State are playing politics with the Oriire mass abduction of school children and have strangely opted to blame Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State, my friend and professional colleague, Wale Adedayo, came with his idea on how technology and modern tools can be deployed to neutralise the terrorists. According to him, since the location of the kidnappers is known, the criminals will need food and water – for themselves and the hostages. It is no rocket science to determine the supply source and route. With that, infiltration by Special Forces can be activated.

The infiltration should, he said, should be led by snipers whose main objective should be to avoid collateral damage. Although, Adedayo is not a military expert, there is enough of such operations carried out worldwide for him to caution that low flying drones should not be used. Rather, high altitude ones should be deployed to provide a 360 degrees real time view to guide Special Forces that can infiltrate the camp and neutralise the gunmen without any inch given to the terrorists to harm the children.

Unfortunately, having happened at peak of party primaries, the abduction of the school children was just a distraction to rulers in both Abuja and Ibadan. It took 16 days for President Bola Tinubu to address the issue and send a delegation to the community. Makinde did not fair better either.

At the end of the day, the government will play ball with the terrorists, pay them money and undertake a victory lap that they were able to “rescue” the children. And the gunmen will gleefully retire to plan another abduction with their bigger war chest of ransom money. And the vicious circle continues.