The latest attack in Sokoto has exposed the difficult reality facing Nigeria’s security strategy: even as the government increases military pay and tightens its response to criminal activity in schools, communities are still being left vulnerable to heavily armed attacks.
At least 21 people are feared dead and 37 others were abducted after gunmen attacked Tsamaye community in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State. Thousands of residents reportedly fled, while at least 18 people are feared to have drowned after boats carrying residents escaping the violence capsized. The scale of the escape is perhaps as revealing as the attack itself.
Residents were not simply victims of an attack; they were forced into a desperate flight in which escaping became dangerous in its own right. That suggests the security problem in parts of northern Nigeria is no longer just about stopping individual attacks. It is about whether communities believe they have enough protection to remain in their homes.
The Federal Government is responding with measures aimed at strengthening the security architecture.
President Bola Tinubu has approved salary increases of between 30% and 80% for armed forces personnel, with the biggest increase going to lower ranks. The new pay structure is scheduled to take effect from September 1, with the military’s annual wage bill rising from about ₦660 billion to ₦924 billion. The government says the increase is intended to improve troop welfare and morale.
At the same time, the government has ordered universities, polytechnics and colleges to dismiss students found guilty of kidnapping or related violent crimes, while strengthening intelligence-sharing with security agencies.
These measures send a clear message: the government wants both the security forces and civilian institutions to take a harder line against criminal networks.
But higher salaries alone cannot stop an attack if troops cannot reach vulnerable communities quickly enough. And expelling criminal students will not dismantle kidnapping networks if the people organising and financing those networks remain outside the reach of the law.
The Sokoto attack therefore raises the bigger question Nigeria must answer: can it turn increased spending and tougher policies into faster intelligence, stronger local security and actual protection for communities?
For residents of places like Tsamaye, that is what matters. The measure of success will not be how much more the government spends on security. It will be whether people can sleep in their homes without planning how they will escape.
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