Armed forces remembrance: 2,140 soldiers, policemen, others killed since 2015
No fewer than 2, 140 security personnel have lost their lives under the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), between June 2015 and January 2023.
Investigations by The PUNCH indicate that the deceased agents included personnel of the military, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps personnel.
The President marked his last Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony in office on Sunday, where he laid wreaths at the Cenotaph accompanied by the Commander, Guards Brigade.
During his swearing-in in 2015, Buhari had pledged to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency
Though the military has recorded measurable progress in the war against the insurgents, the situation has evolved into banditry, kidnapping and other violent criminal activities which the regime has been struggling to contain.
Findings by The PUNCH, however, revealed that the insecurity had taken a huge human toll on the security forces which the authorities had never disclosed.
The number of security personnel who died in active service is believed to be higher than the data obtained by our correspondents from the Nigeria Security Tracker, media reports and other sources.
However, a total of 1,297 soldiers were reportedly killed during the review period.
A breakdown showed that 48 security operatives were killed between June and December 2015; 230 killed in 2016; 164 in 2017; 268 in 2018; 357 in 2019; 609 in 2020; 107 in 2021; 342 in 2022 and 15 in 2023.
Data from the Nigeria Security Tracker showed that over 268 security operatives, including soldiers, policemen, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency operatives, vigilante cadets, and joint task force operatives were killed in several attacks across the six geopolitical zones in the year 2018.
B’Haram victims
About 153 soldiers fell to attacks by Boko Haram terrorists and suspected herdsmen. No fewer than 96 policemen were also murdered by gunmen, armed robbers, and bandits in the same year.
Also, 16 vigilante cadets and operatives of the joint task force were attacked and killed by suspected terrorists, bandits and kidnappers while three NDLEA officers succumbed to their injuries.
The worst hit region was the North-East, followed by the North-West, North-Central, South-South, with the lowest killings recorded in the South-East and South-West. Punch
At least 30 Nigerian soldiers were said to have been killed during combat with Boko Haram terrorists who overran a military base in Borno State, on September 1, 2018.
In November of the same year, the police in Zamfara State confirmed the killing of 16 of its personnel during a clash with bandits.
Meanwhile, in 2019, about 357 security operatives were killed, with soldiers accounting for about 207; police officers, 30 and NSCDC, 10.
About 110 others were believed to be members of the Civilian Joint Task Force.
Reports also indicate that about 46 soldiers were killed by terrorists in Zamfara between January and June, 2019.
It was also gathered that 101 police officers were killed between January and September, 2019. Punch
