23 Dead in Suspected Suicide Bombings in Maiduguri, Nigeria. City, Country: Maiduguri, Nigeria — Lead Paragraph: At least 23 people have been confirmed dead and over 100 injured in a series of suspected suicide bombings in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state in north-eastern Nigeria.
The attacks, which occurred during the Ramadan fasting period, targeted a post office, market areas, and the entrance to the University of Maiduguri teaching hospital.
The bombings, which happened on Monday evening during iftar, the breaking of fast in Ramadan, are a stark reminder of the ongoing threat posed by terrorist groups in the region. Maiduguri, once a hotbed of Nigeria’s Boko Haram insurgency, has seen a relative reduction in attacks in recent years, with the conflict shifting to rural areas.
However, the latest attacks have shattered the city’s reputation as a safer haven.
According to local reports, the explosions went off at the post office and market areas, as well as the entrance to the University of Maiduguri teaching hospital.
The post office and Monday market areas have been previously targeted by suicide bombers during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency.
In a similar attack ten years ago, 58 people were killed and more than 140 others injured in four separate suicide blasts.
Nigerian authorities have attributed the bombings to “suspected Boko Haram terrorist suicide bombers” using improvised explosive devices. Sani Uba, a military spokesperson, stated in a statement that the attacks were targeted at crowded public areas in an attempt to cause mass casualties and create panic within the city.
The region has been addressing the activities of Boko Haram and its offshoots, including the Islamic West Africa Province (ISWAP), for years.
These groups have been fighting the Nigerian state in an attempt to establish an Islamic caliphate, leading to the displacement of over 2 million people and the deaths of hundreds of thousands.
The latest attacks come after an earlier incident at a military post on the outskirts of Maiduguri over the weekend. While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombings, the fear is that these attacks could be a sign of a resurgence in terrorist activity in the area.
President Bola Tinubu, who is currently on a state visit to the UK, announced on Tuesday morning that he had directed security chiefs to relocate to Maiduguri to take charge of the situation and defeat the terrorists.
Further details regarding the investigations into the bombings and the identities of the attackers are expected to be released in the coming days.
The Nigerian government has vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
