NIGERIA · SECURITY · DEFENCE
Key Facts
- —The country Nigeria is a federation of 36 states plus the capital territory around Abuja, and a US security partner: American forces have struck Islamic State fighters there, in coordination with the Nigerian government, since December 2025.
- —The background The US State Department rates Nigeria at Level 3, “Reconsider Travel”, citing terrorism, crime, kidnapping and unrest, and tells Americans not to travel at all to a long list of states, among them Zamfara.
- —Why now In July, President Bola Tinubu approved growing the Army from eight to 12 divisions. A pay rise of up to 80 percent for the armed forces took effect on 1 September.
- —What happened On Sunday, 4 October, Tinubu said the Army had activated new formations in Zamfara, Kebbi, Oyo and Osun states, and that new barracks and depots were being fast-tracked in four more places.
- —The numbers About 250,000 personnel get the pay rise, which lifts the yearly military salary bill from NGN 660 billion (about US$497 million) to NGN 924 billion (about US$696 million).
- —What it means for you Nothing in the announcement changes US travel guidance. Anyone working in or visiting the affected states should keep following the State Department advisory and local security advice.
- —Still open The President did not name the new units, their size or their cost, and an opposition presidential candidate says he cannot find the expansion in the 2026 budget.
Nigeria’s Army has stationed new units in four states, Zamfara and Kebbi in the north-west and Oyo and Osun in the south-west, President Bola Tinubu said on Sunday, 4 October. He presented the move as a way to bring troops closer to villages that armed groups attack. It matters beyond Nigeria because US forces now strike Islamic State fighters there in coordination with its government, and because Americans are told to stay out of much of its territory.
Tinubu, president since May 2023 and a member of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), made the announcement in a statement on his official X account. It followed a pay rise of up to 80 percent for the armed forces, which took effect on 1 September.
What Tinubu Announced
“This week, the Nigerian Army operationalised new formations in Zamfara, Kebbi, Oyo and Osun. Our troops are now closer to vulnerable communities in these areas, strengthening our ability to respond swiftly and decisively when our people are threatened,” Tinubu said, according to the text published by the Nigerian newspapers Punch and Daily Post.
He added that the government was “fast-tracking the construction of new barracks and depots in Abuja, Ekiti, Ebonyi and Kogi, with Osun already completed.” He did not say whether the new formations are brigades, battalions or smaller units, how many soldiers they hold, or where in each state they are based.
Zamfara is on the State Department’s “Do Not Travel” list; Kebbi is its western neighbour. Oyo and Osun lie in the south-west, around the city of Ibadan, Oyo’s capital, and Osogbo, Osun’s capital.
A Bigger Army, Better Paid
The new units are part of a wider reorganisation. On Thursday, 23 July, the presidency announced that the Army would grow from eight to 12 divisions and recruit 28,000 more personnel, according to the statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga as reported by Arise News and The Guardian Nigeria.
The four new divisions are to be headquartered in Makurdi, Ilorin, Jalingo and Benin City. The plan set September 2026 for the first phase, covering three of them, and December 2026 for the fourth. On Thursday, 30 July, Tinubu told traditional rulers from Oyo State that the four extra divisions were meant to make the military respond swiftly to insecurity wherever it happens, according to a State House release.
Pay followed. A State House release of Tuesday, 4 August, set rises of 80 percent for privates to staff sergeants, 50 percent for warrant officers to colonels and 30 percent for officers above colonel, effective 1 September. At Tuesday’s closing rate of NGN 1,327.69 per US dollar, the yearly salary bill rises by about US$199 million.
“Over the past few days, servicemen and women of the Armed Forces have shared what the recent pay increase means for them and their families,” Tinubu said on Sunday. “Every deployment is a sacrifice made by a family too.”
Why Washington Is Watching
US Africa Command (AFRICOM), the Pentagon’s command for the continent, says it struck Islamic State fighters in Sokoto State on Thursday, 25 December 2025, and again in north-eastern Nigeria on Monday, 18 May 2026, both times in coordination with the Nigerian government.
US Army photographs released this year show American soldiers training Nigerian troops at an “Operating Location Bauchi” between April and July 2026, in drone flying and battlefield first aid.
The Budget Question
The expansion has become an election issue. Seyi Makinde, the governor of Oyo State and presidential candidate of the opposition Allied Peoples Movement (APM) for 2027, said on Monday, 28 September, that he could not find it in the federal budget.
“I was looking at the budget for 2026. I was looking for the item in that budget relating to the expansion of those army divisions. I did not see it,” he told a party meeting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, according to Vanguard. The presidency has not published a cost for the new divisions.
What It Means for You
For travellers, nothing changes yet. The State Department advisory, last updated on 25 June 2026, still lists Zamfara, as well as Kwara and Taraba, where two of the new division headquarters sit, among the states Americans should not visit.
For investors, the pay rise is a fixed cost the federal budget will carry from now on. The new units could matter for farming, mining and road transport in the north-west if they reduce attacks, but there is no data yet to show that.
What Is Not Known
The President did not name the new units, their strength, their commanders or their cost. The Army has not published a statement, which The Rio Times could find, confirming that the first phase of the divisions plan was finished in September as scheduled.
No independent data yet shows whether attacks in Zamfara, Kebbi, Oyo or Osun have fallen. It is also not known how far US forces at Bauchi will work with the new formations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did Nigeria activate new army formations?
President Bola Tinubu said on Sunday, 4 October 2026, that the Nigerian Army had activated new formations in Zamfara, Kebbi, Oyo and Osun states.
How many divisions will the Nigerian Army have?
Twelve, up from eight. New division headquarters are planned in Makurdi, Ilorin, Jalingo and Benin City, with 28,000 extra personnel to be recruited.
How big is the military pay rise?
Between 30 and 80 percent depending on rank, effective 1 September 2026, for about 250,000 personnel. The yearly salary bill rises to about US$696 million.
Is it safe for Americans to travel to these states?
The US State Department rates Nigeria at Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and lists Zamfara among the states Americans should not visit. The new army units do not change that guidance.
Sources: State House Nigeria, pay rise release, 4 August 2026, State House Nigeria, Army divisions, 30 July 2026, US Africa Command, strike in Sokoto State, 25 December 2025, US Africa Command, strike of 18 May 2026, US State Department, Nigeria travel advisory, Punch, 4 October 2026, Vanguard, 4 October 2026, Daily Post, 5 October 2026, Arise News, 23 July 2026, The Guardian Nigeria, 24 July 2026, Vanguard, Makinde on the budget, 28 September 2026, US Army photo captions, Operating Location Bauchi. Exchange rate: Tuesday, 6 October 2026 close.
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