Police authorities in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, have confirmed that a total of 23 persons were killed, while 108 others sustained injuries after three bomb blasts were detonated on Monday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The spokesman of the command, Nahum Kenneth-Daso, who disclosed this in a press statement on Tuesday, said normalcy has returned to the state capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFollowing the devastating suspected suicide IED explosions that occurred at about 1924hrs on March 16, 2026, at (1) Maiduguri Monday Market, (2) University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) gate, and (3) Post Office Flyover area, Maiduguri,\u201d Kenneth-Daso said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPreliminary investigations reveal that the incidents were carried out by suspected suicide bombers. Regrettably, a total of twenty-three (23) persons lost their lives, while one hundred and eight (108) others sustained varying degrees of injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He further explained that, following the incidents, a combined team of police tactical units, the military, and other joint security operatives was swiftly deployed to the affected areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scenes were immediately secured, cordoned off, and thoroughly swept by the Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit, Base 13, Maiduguri, to rule out any additional threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Commissioner of Police, Naziru Abdulmajid, visited the affected locations to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the situation and evaluate ongoing response efforts. He commiserated with victims and their families while assuring the public of the command\u2019s unwavering commitment to safeguarding lives and property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVictims were promptly evacuated by emergency responders, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), to medical facilities, where they are currently receiving treatment,\u201d the command\u2019s spokesman added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, joint security operatives have increased their presence and surveillance across Maiduguri and its environs to prevent further incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The renewed assaults have disrupted a year-long period of relative peace in the city, which had become an oasis of calm as Nigeria\u2019s long-running insurgency was pushed to rural hinterlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fighters from Boko Haram and rival jihadist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have recently stepped up attacks in northeastern Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their 16-year campaign to establish a caliphate in the country has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno State, described the bombings as \u201cbarbaric,\u201d adding that \u201cthe recent surge in attacks is not unconnected with intense military operations in the Sambisa Forest,\u201d a known jihadist stronghold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maiduguri, once the scene of daily shootings and bombings, had been relatively calm in recent years, with attacks peaking in the mid-2010s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last major attack dates back to 2021, when Boko Haram jihadists fired mortars at the city, killing 10 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, in December, an unclaimed bombing \u2014 again involving a suspected suicide attacker \u2014 killed at least seven people in a city mosque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the countryside surrounding Maiduguri, violence has continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, the army confirmed \u201ccoordinated attacks\u201d on several military bases in the northeast, which killed at least 14 people, including 10 soldiers, according to local civilian and military sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, the United States Africa Command announced the deployment of troops to Nigeria to provide technical and training support to the country\u2019s military in combating jihadist groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The command said 200 troops are expected to be deployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move followed remarks by Donald Trump, who described the violence in Nigeria as the \u201cpersecution\u201d of Christians \u2014 a characterisation often used by segments of the U.S. religious and political right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the federal government and many independent experts maintain that both Christians and Muslims are victims of the country\u2019s violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Police authorities in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, have confirmed that a total of 23 persons were killed, while 108 others sustained injuries after three bomb blasts were detonated on Monday night. The spokesman of the command, Nahum Kenneth-Daso, who disclosed this in a press statement on Tuesday, said normalcy has returned to the state<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":96285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[143],"tags":[186],"class_list":{"0":"post-96284","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-borno-state"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96286,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96284\/revisions\/96286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/96285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}