President Bola Tinubu has approved Nigeria’s largest recent military expansion, authorising 28,000 additional soldiers and four new army divisions to address persistent violence by jihadists, separatists and kidnapping gangs. The move matters because insecurity remains widespread despite recent military successes, placing the government under pressure to improve protection for civilians.

The expansion will raise the number of army divisions to 12, with three additional headquarters planned for north-east and central regions affected by Islamist attacks, banditry and farmer-herder violence. It follows killings in Zamfara and the abduction of 46 students in Borno, while Tinubu has also announced more than 50,000 police recruits and a record 5.41tn naira (£3bn) defence and security budget; experts warn recruitment could be difficult amid military casualties.