Nigeria's president approves largest military expansion in recent times

Nigeria's president has approved the country's largest military expansion in recent times - an attempt to tackle the slew of security challenges plaguing the nation.

Bola Tinubu has greenlit the recruitment of 28,000 extra soldiers and the creation of four new army divisions, which will take the total number up to 12.

Nigeria's government is under intense pressure to curb the violence perpetrated by a variety of armed groups, including militant Islamists, separatists and gangs who kidnap civilians for ransom.

Over the past week, an armed gang killed at least 20 villagers in the north-western state of Zamfara and 46 students were abducted from a school in Borno state in the country's north-east.

The students were rescued by the army hours after they were taken and generally, the authorities appear to have made recent inroads in their fight against armed gangs.

Despite this, the criminal groups have become more sophisticated and violence remains a defining aspect of life in Nigeria.

In announcing the military expansion, the government said new army divisions would ensure better co-ordination, intelligence sharing and faster response times.

Under the army's current structure, multiple divisions have had to cover extensive areas that stretch from one state to another - with their resources stretched in the face of persistent attacks.

In addition to the new division, three new army headquarters will be set up in north-east and central Nigeria - areas plagued by Islamist militants, banditry and clashes between farmers and herders.

Recently, the violence has spread into parts of southern Nigeria too. In May, 44 pupils and teachers were abducted during co-ordinated attacks on schools in the south-western state of Oyo.

Although the government plans to recruit tens of thousands of soldiers, security experts told the BBC that convincing young Nigerians to join the army, in the face of the number of soldiers killed in recent months, might be a major challenge.

Ahead of approving the changes to the military, President Tinubu ordered armed groups to "surrender or face the full force" of the state.

In his speech, given last month, he also announced more than 50,000 new police officers and allocated record 5.41tn naira ($4bn; £3bn) to defence and security in the yearly budget.

In December, US and Nigerian forces launched a joint operation to tackle jihadists, which involved strikes against militants from the Lakurawa group in north-western Nigeria on Christmas Day.

Senior Islamic State (IS) leader Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was also killed during a months-long mission that largely centred on the Lake Chad Basin area in the north-east.

IS has radically shifted in recent years, with around 90% of its attacks now taking place in sub-Saharan Africa, analysts say. Its Nigeria-based branch is by far the most active.

Despite the US-Nigeria joint operation, which came to an end early this month, Islamist militant groups continue to stage attacks.

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