ISWAP Burns Army Base, Steals MRAP as Soldiers Flee in Borno Shame

Another Monday morning in Borno, another humiliation for the Nigerian Army.

On December 8, fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) strolled into a remote outpost in Mairari village, set three military vehicles ablaze, and calmly drove away with a brand-new armored MRAP while the soldiers stationed there vanished into the bush.

A 41-second video released Tuesday night shows the entire operation: RPGs ripping through the fence, flames swallowing Hilux pickups, and jubilant militants waving seized rifles like souvenirs.

Not a single casualty, says ISWAP. Not a single official word from the Nigerian military 48 hours later.

The silence is deafening, and Nigerians are furious.

While troops in the northeast dodge bullets with outdated gear, hundreds of elite soldiers and shiny new aircraft are deployed to Benin Republic for a flashy regional operation that many now call a “photo-op abroad while Borno burns.”

Social media exploded with the hashtag #EquipOurTroops, with one viral post asking: “How do you lose an entire base and a $200,000 armored vehicle without firing a shot?”

Borno Governor Babagana Zulum broke his usual caution with a pointed tweet: “Our heroes need tools, not excuses, reinforce the northeast now.”

Insiders whisper that the Mairari outpost had been crying for reinforcements for weeks, but the request was “deprioritized” because senior officers were busy escorting VIPs to the Benin mission.

For ordinary Nigerians, the footage is more than a military setback; it feels like betrayal.

One stolen MRAP is already being paraded in ISWAP propaganda as proof that the jihadists can take whatever they want, whenever they want.

And until Nigerians speaks, or better yet, acts, those flames in Mairari will keep burning in the hearts of millions who just want their soldiers to come home alive.