Suicide bomb attacks kill at least 23 in Maiduguri

By Editor

In the updated count, at least 23 people have been killed and 108 injured in a series of suspected suicide bombings in Maiduguri, Borno State.

A post office, a popular weekly market, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital were hit within minutes of each other at around 7.30pm on Monday.

The sites, among the city’s busiest, drew large crowds after the day’s Ramadan fast was broken.

Monday’s explosions represent one of the deadliest attacks Maiduguri has witnessed in years.

The city was once the epicentre of an insurgency by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. However, it had been enjoying a relatively stable period after intensified military operations had pushed armed groups into remote border areas.

The Borno police command said in a statement that an investigation was underway to identify the attackers.

“Preliminary investigation reveals that the incidents were carried out by suspected suicide bombers.”

Modu Bukar, a resident who witnessed the market blast and helped take victims to the hospital, told the AFP news agency, “We were sitting when we suddenly heard a loud explosion. Everyone immediately started running in fear.

“As we ran, people kept shouting that we should keep going.”

President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack on Tuesday as he left for a visit to the UK, saying that “Nigeria will not succumb to fear”.

The culprits will be “located, confronted, and completely defeated”, he added in a statement.

Just hours before the bombings, security forces repelled an overnight attack by suspected Islamist fighters on a military post in the Ajilari Cross area, on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

The scale and location of Monday’s attacks – deep within the city – have shaken residents who had cautiously begun to believe that the worst years of Boko Haram’s insurgency were over.

Officials have warned that the threat of further violence remains, even as emergency and security agencies work to reinforce safety across the city.