Blasts in Maiduguri leave dozens dead and injured
Police confirm 23 killed in suspected suicide attacks as emergency teams respond across multiple sites in northeastern Nigeria
By Abdullahi Yusuf
A series of explosions in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri has left at least 23 people dead and more than 100 injured, in what authorities say were suspected suicide attacks targeting crowded civilian locations.
Police in Borno State said the blasts occurred at around 7:24pm on Monday at three sites, the Monday Market, the Post Office flyover and the entrance to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
In a statement, police spokesperson Nahum Daso Kenneth said 108 people sustained varying degrees of injuries and were taken to nearby medical facilities, as emergency responders worked through the night.
Explosive ordnance disposal teams were deployed to sweep the affected areas for additional threats, while security forces, including the military, increased patrols across the city.
Bagoni Alkali, who said he helped transport victims to hospital, told the Associated Press that hundreds of people were wounded, many critically.
“Many lost their lives at the scene immediately after the bomb exploded. It’s disheartening,” he said.
Another resident, Mohammed Hassan, who assists local security volunteers, said he recovered multiple bodies from the market areas and warned that hospitals were struggling to cope with the number of casualties.
“We’re in dire need of blood,” he said, describing the incident as one of the deadliest attacks in the city in recent years.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the bombings. However, the region has long been affected by violence linked to armed groups such as Boko Haram and its ISIL-affiliated offshoot.
Authorities say the attacks come amid a renewed surge in violence across the northeast, with recent assaults on military bases and increased operations by Nigerian forces in the Sambisa forest, a known stronghold of armed fighters.
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum condemned the attacks, describing them as “barbaric and inhumane”, and suggested they may be linked to intensified military pressure on armed groups.
Security officials have urged residents to remain calm and avoid the affected areas as investigations continue.
Maiduguri, once at the centre of Nigeria’s armed conflict, had seen a relative decline in large-scale attacks in recent years, though violence has persisted in surrounding rural areas.
The latest blasts are likely to raise fresh concerns about security in the region, as authorities continue efforts to contain a long-running insurgency that has displaced millions and claimed thousands of lives.
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