‘Seven down’:Military commanders Nigeria has lost to terror since January 2026

At least six serving military commanders and one retired major general have been killed by terrorists and bandits in Nigeria since January 2026, a grim sign that the country’s insurgency crisis is far from over, according to Daily Post.

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Nigeria’s war against insurgents just keeps claiming senior officers — and the list is getting painfully long.

According to Daily Post, no fewer than six serving military commanders and one retired Major General have been killed by terrorists since January 2026 alone, as insecurity escalates across the country.

Here’s the grim timeline:

• February 16: Lt. Col. O.C. Okolo was killed when Boko Haram attacked Mandaragirau in Biu LGA, Borno State. He was laid to rest in Enugu State in April.
• March 1: Maj. U.I. Mairiga, commander of the Mayenti base, was murdered by armed militants.
• March 6: Lt. Col. S.I. Iliyasu was killed when Boko Haram struck a battalion in Konduga, Borno State.
• March 9: Lt. Col. Umar Farouq was killed in another deadly attack on a military base in Borno.
• April 9: Brig. Gen. Oseni Omoh Braimah was gunned down by ISWAP fighters.
• April 13: Col. I.A. Mohammed, commanding officer of the Army’s 242 Battalion in Monguno, was murdered in active service.

And then there’s the most recent — and arguably most heartbreaking — case: Retired Maj. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, who wasn’t killed in the line of duty but died in the forest after being abducted alongside his wife in Katsina State on May 30. A four-minute video later surfaced showing the couple relaying their captors’ ransom demands — release of three detained members and return of seized livestock — to the Katsina government.

Six months. Seven officers. One unrelenting crisis.