By Ed Malik, A /edmalik06@gmail.com
Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, in a shocking evaluation of the security challenges, has shed new light on the operational difficulties facing the military in its campaign against terrorists and bandits operating from the country’s deep forest regions.
Speaking during a defence briefing on Thursday, Badaru said the military is exercising caution despite growing public pressure for swift, large-scale bombardments of known criminal hideouts. According to him, dense forest terrains—including Sambisa, Birnin Gwari, Kamuku, Kainji and other heavily wooded areas—significantly limit the effectiveness of aerial strikes.
“But bomb cannot penetrate the forests. We are studying the situation,” the minister said, noting that thick vegetation often prevents drones from capturing clear images and disrupts the trajectory of air-delivered munitions. He added that the natural cover provided by tree density and rugged topography gives criminal groups tactical advantages and multiple escape routes.
Badaru explained that while the government has intelligence on the approximate locations of several bandit camps, launching indiscriminate air attacks without precise visual confirmation risks harming civilians, including villagers held hostage or living close to the forest zones. “We cannot operate blindly,” he emphasized. “This is why operations take time. We are integrating technology, gathering intelligence, and planning coordinated strikes.”
Security analysts have greeted the minister’s comments with mixed reactions, noting that he has highlighted by his own understanding, the complexities of forest warfare and the challenge of rooting out armed groups that exploit natural terrain for concealment and mobility.
“Bombs that can penetrate concrete bunkers can’t penetrate shrubs?!…I swear these guys strutting about our corridors of government are either complicit morons or not fit to be comedians”, enthused a security analyst who craved anonymity.
Another security strategist, asked rhetorically, “Is northern Nigeria more wooded than the South East or South-south where Nigerian soldiers are actively deployed? If we don’t realize what we are dealing with, these people will “swallow” Nigeria.
Despite the constraints, Badaru assured Nigerians that the military is making progress through a combination of covert operations, enhanced drone surveillance and intelligence collaboration with local communities.
He reiterated that security forces remain committed to dismantling the criminal networks entrenched in the country’s forests.