At least 23 people have been confirmed dead and 146 others injured following a series of devastating explosions that tore through multiple locations in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Monday night, in what residents are describing as the worst attack the city has experienced in years.
The blasts struck key areas across the city including the entrance of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Monday Market, and the Post Office area, sending shockwaves of panic and fear through a city that had enjoyed relative calm in recent years after enduring over a decade of insurgency-related violence.
According to Surajo Abdullahi of the National Emergency Management Agency, a total of 169 victims were evacuated to hospitals across Maiduguri in the aftermath of the explosions. He disclosed that 108 of the victims are currently receiving treatment at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, while 20 others were taken to Umaru Shehu Hospital and 17 to Maiduguri Specialist Hospital. The number of injured continues to rise as emergency teams attend to more victims and assess the full scale of the devastation.
Residents who witnessed the explosions described scenes of chaos and horror as the blasts went off in quick succession across the city. Many said the attacks have brought back memories of the darkest period of the Boko Haram insurgency when bombings and attacks on civilian areas were a regular occurrence in Maiduguri.
One resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the explosions have brought back fear and disturbing scenes that the city thought it had left behind. The resident described the attacks as a chilling signal that insecurity may be returning to a city that had worked hard to rebuild itself after years of conflict.
The attacks are particularly alarming because of the locations that were targeted. Monday Market is one of the busiest commercial centres in Maiduguri, typically filled with traders and shoppers. The University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital is the largest medical facility in the state and serves as the primary healthcare centre for millions of people across the Northeast. An attack at the entrance of such a facility raises deeply troubling questions about the intent behind the explosions and the willingness of those responsible to target places where civilians congregate in large numbers.
The last major attack of this scale in Maiduguri occurred in 2021, when suspected Boko Haram fighters launched mortar attacks on the city that left at least 10 people dead. That incident was followed by a suicide bombing at a mosque in Gambarou market. Since then, the security situation in the city had improved significantly, with residents gradually returning to normal life and businesses reopening in areas that had previously been considered too dangerous.
Monday night’s explosions have shattered that sense of recovery and raised fresh fears that the relative peace the city enjoyed may be under serious threat.
Adding to the concern is the fact that the Maiduguri explosions came barely hours after another attack was reported on a military location in Ajilari, an outskirt of the city. The proximity of the two incidents in both time and location has raised serious questions about whether the attacks were coordinated and whether they represent the beginning of a new wave of violence targeting Maiduguri.
In response to the attacks, the Borno State Police Command has deployed its Explosive Ordnance Disposal team to assess the situation and examine the blast sites. Joint security operatives and emergency responders have also been mobilized and have taken control of the affected areas. Authorities are yet to officially attribute the attacks to any specific group, though suspicion has naturally fallen on insurgent elements that have operated in the region for over a decade.
The Northeast region of Nigeria has been at the centre of one of the world’s most devastating insurgencies since 2009, when Boko Haram launched its armed campaign. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions, and destroyed communities across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states. While military operations in recent years have degraded the capacity of the insurgents and reclaimed significant territory, splinter groups and remnants of the movement have continued to carry out sporadic attacks on both military and civilian targets…See More
Source: National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA
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