Boko Haram insurgents have reportedly overrun a military camp in the Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, killing the base’s commanding officer and several other personnel in an early morning raid on Monday, March 9, 2026.
In a devastating blow to regional security, Boko Haram terrorists overran a military camp in Kukawa, Borno State, during the early hours of Monday, March 9, 2026. The insurgents reportedly launched a coordinated assault from multiple directions around 12:30 a.m., dislodging the troops and setting military vehicles ablaze before looting the armory. Security sources confirmed the death of the base’s Commanding Officer (CO), a leader who had been widely celebrated by the local community just last month for successfully repelling a similar attack. “I cannot say much about the casualties but it’s very sad that we also lost the CO (commanding officer) here,” one source lamented, noting the high emotional toll on the surviving personnel.
The lawmaker representing Kukawa in the Borno State House of Assembly, Karta Maina Ma’aji Lawan, expressed profound sadness over the base’s fall, having previously joined the community in praising the same troops for their gallantry. The slain CO had gained significant social media attention for his tactical leadership during earlier skirmishes, earning accolades as a “brave defender” of the Kukawa axis. However, the latest breach indicates a renewed and more aggressive push by the insurgents, who allegedly “stormed the town from multiple directions” to overwhelm the facility’s defenses before disappearing back into the bush.
This latest tragedy follows a weekend of intense violence in Borno, including a separate, heartless assault on the Ngoshe community in Gwoza LGA that claimed the lives of numerous soldiers and civilians. On Saturday, President Bola Tinubu issued a statement mourning those lost in Gwoza, including personnel caught in friendly fire during aerial interdictions. As the military high command reassesses its strategy in the Northeast, residents of Kukawa remain in shock, fearing that the loss of their celebrated commander may leave the strategic town vulnerable to further insurgent incursions.
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