The Commander Sector 3 Operation HADIN KAI ( OPHK) & Multinational Joint Task Force ( MNJTF) Major General Suleiman Tilawan, has attributed the prolonged insurgency in the North-East to continued community support for insurgents and persistent local interference in military operations, warning that such actions are undermining efforts to restore lasting peace and security in the region.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, by the Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Headquarters Sector 3 OPHK/MNJTF, Lieutenant Ayodeji Abiodun, the Commander made the assertion on Tuesday, 28 April 2026 when the Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( UN-OCHA) paid him a courtesy visit at Kinnasara Cantonment, Monguno.
He noted that despite significant gains recorded by the Nigerian Army and other security agencies, the persistence of the conflict is largely due to the actions of some residents who provide intelligence, logistics, and safe havens to insurgents.
According to him, such support not only emboldens the fighters but also compromises the effectiveness of carefully planned military operations.
He explained that the interrelationship between IDPs and insurgents cannot be trivialized as the insurgents infiltrating into Monguno town come out of the very communities as many of the people in the IDP camps. Noting that the Gana Ali and GG camps in the town are not standard IDP camps but ghettos and slums that emerged from the influx of persons coming into Monguno from villages displaced by insurgents and these places have over time became havens within the town for terrorists to deploy sleeper cells.
He added that in every society and especially in communities experiencing conflicts, law and order is maintained and encouraged by a carrot and stick approach, where those who are law-abiding are given the carrot while the stick is to sanction and caution law breakers
“But what we have now is a carrot and banana approach, where law-abiding people are encouraged with carrots and those found to engage in assisting terrorist activities get the banana and as the banana is more favoured, many of the people are attracted to becoming terrorist collaborators because of the financial benefits and no firm sanctions against such activities
General Tilawan reiterated that the military is not oblivious to the use of these camps as bases for information gathering and other activities by insurgents infiltrating into the town. " But considering the humanitarian issues involved we have long tried to curtail terrorist infiltration in these areas by our own surveillance activities, but it seems the terrorists have now moved to transforming these areas to active launch pads in carrying out attacks on security personnel inside the town and with a clear intention to dislodge the military forces from these parts of the country," he said.
While emphasising the need for a holistic approach towards addressing the issues, he told the delegation that in actuality, the Army is relocating the IDPs from the illegal ghettos to government-established IDP camps within the town and the process is ongoing at every town within its Areas of Responsibility.
He further averred that the Army respects the principle of neutrality as enshrined in humanitarian laws but a situation where these organisations are aware of the presence and activities of insurgents in their camps which dovetails into creating arms caches and organising attacks on security forces would not be tolerated. "They have to report such activities and persons in these camps or submit to the thorough surveillance and security management of the camps to the military; an insurgent that is being refitted, replenished and accommodated behind the safety net provided by the civilian communities and IDP camps has all the incentives to remain active in existence." He warned.
Earlier in her remarks, the Head of the Delegation UN-OCHA, Danielle Parry disclosed that the UN- OCHA has over the years been at the forefront in coordinating the affairs of International and National Non Governmental Organizations humanitarian activities in the North East, especially as it affects IDPs.
She noted that in order for the UN to meet up with the humanitarian crisis in the region, they need to collaborate with the military, which can provide that enabling environment and an easy communication mechanism for their activities to thrive.
She further solicited a sustained partnership and dialogue with regard to crisis management and issues emanating from the relocation of IDPs from some areas in Monguno town.
The visit concluded with an on- the- ground tour of the Gana Ali and Stadium camps and the Rapid Response IDP camp in Monguno,
The visit was hitch-free and further symbolises the enduring partnership between the military and the humanitarian organisations operating in the region
