A Nigerian soldier is arrested for tipping off criminals - but does it go deeper?

It is not unreasonable to believe some of these groups are being assisted by military personnel, Bashir Galma, a security analyst and retired army major, told the BBC."I know there have been instances where plans are made for an attack on a location and the information finds its way to either [militant Islamist group] Boko Haram or another criminal gang," he said, suggesting an insider tip-off.At least 3,000 kidnappings and 3,580 killings by armed groups took place between January 2024 and April 2025 alone, data from Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission records The alarming surge in mass abductions has been attributed to gunmen known locally as bandits, as well as insurgent attacks from Boko Haram and its offshoot, Iswap.Attacks on schools have also been making the headlines, although this has been a problem for years. Between April 2014 and May 2026, there were 26 major school attacks with at least 2,416 students abducted, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) says.Ransom payments are estimated to run into millions of dollars annually, according to official data.In April 2025, the governor of Nigeria's embattled Borno state, Babagana Zulum, alleged that informants and collaborators for Boko Haram insurgents were operating within the country's armed forces, political class and local communities."What we need to do is to strengthen our intelligence and to deal with them ruthlessly," he said during a security meeting.