Nigeria approves major military expansion amid worsening security crisis

Nigeria's president has approved the country's largest military expansion in recent times, authorising the recruitment of 28,000 additional soldiers and the creation of four new army divisions. The move is intended to strengthen the state's response to a widening security crisis that has included killings, kidnappings and militant attacks across several regions. Officials say the changes are designed to improve coordination and speed up responses to attacks.

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The government said the new divisions will take the total number in the army to 12. It also plans to establish three new army headquarters in north-east and central Nigeria, where Islamist militants, bandit groups and clashes between farmers and herders have continued to strain security forces. The authorities said the current structure has left some divisions responsible for very large areas stretching across multiple states, stretching resources in the face of persistent violence.

The decision follows a week in which at least 20 villagers were killed in Zamfara, in the north-west, and 46 students were abducted from a school in Borno, in the north-east. The students were later rescued by the army hours after they were taken. The government has said it has made recent inroads against armed gangs, but violence remains a defining feature of life in parts of the country.

Criminal groups have become more sophisticated, according to the account provided by officials. The expansion matters because Nigeria is facing several overlapping security threats at once, including militant Islamists, separatist groups and gangs that kidnap civilians for ransom. The scale of the response suggests the government sees the problem as both a military and administrative challenge, with the armed forces needing more personnel and a more localised command structure.

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It also highlights the pressure on President Bola Tinubu to show progress against insecurity in Africa's most populous country. The announcement comes after the president ordered armed groups to surrender or face the full force of the state. Security experts have warned that recruiting tens of thousands of new soldiers may be difficult, given the number of troops killed in recent months and the risks associated with service.

Violence has also spread into parts of southern Nigeria, adding to the complexity of the security picture and increasing the demands on the military. What remains unclear is how quickly the recruitment drive and new command structures can be put in place, and whether they will be enough to change conditions on the ground. The government has not yet set out a detailed timetable for the expansion in the material provided.

The coming weeks will show whether the new divisions and headquarters improve coordination and reduce the frequency of attacks.

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