Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has approved the country's largest military expansion in recent times, a move aimed at addressing a surge in security challenges across the nation. The expansion includes the recruitment of 28,000 new soldiers and the establishment of four additional army divisions, bringing the total number of divisions to twelve.
The Nigerian government is under significant pressure to curb the violence perpetrated by various armed groups. These groups include militant Islamists, separatists, and criminal gangs notorious for kidnapping civilians for ransom. In recent incidents, an armed gang killed at least 20 villagers in the northwestern state of Zamfara, and 46 students were abducted from a school in the northeastern state of Borno. The students were rescued by the army hours after their abduction.
Despite recent efforts by authorities appearing to make some headway against armed gangs, these criminal groups have grown more sophisticated, and violence remains a pervasive aspect of life in Nigeria. The government stated that the creation of new army divisions is intended to improve coordination, intelligence sharing, and response times. The current army structure often stretches resources thin, with multiple divisions covering vast areas that span across different states, making it difficult to effectively counter persistent attacks.