Borno on the burner
An alarming sequence of terrorism-related violence drew attention to Borno State. The coordinated suicide bombings in Maiduguri on the evening of March 16 represent a significant and tragic escalation in
An alarming sequence of terrorism-related violence drew attention to Borno State. The coordinated suicide bombings in Maiduguri on the evening of March 16 represent a significant and tragic escalation in the region’s security situation. The attacks occurred as residents were breaking their Ramadan fast, shattering a period of relative calm in the Borno State capital.
Three simultaneous explosions targeted high-traffic areas: the Monday Market (the city’s largest trading hub), the Post Office general area, and the entrance to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). Reports indicate at least 27 people were killed and approximately 146 others injured.
The Nigerian military and local authorities have attributed the strikes to the Aliyu Ngulde-led faction of Boko Haram (JAS), though no group has officially claimed responsibility.
Advertisement
300x250
It is disturbing that these synchronised urban attacks may mark a return to high-impact body-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED) tactics that had been rare in Maiduguri since 2021.
Equally troubling is that the attacks occurred amidst an influx of roughly 3,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) into the city following recent insurgent raids in towns like Pulka and Ngoshe.
Read Also: Borno, Plateau attacks: ACF warns of slide into anarchy, demands security overhaul
The raids in Pulka and Ngoshe during early March stand as some of the most devastating attacks in Gwoza Local Government Area (LGA) in recent years.
Initial reports confirmed the deaths of several soldiers and prominent community leaders, including the Chief Imam of Ngoshe. Most alarmingly, estimates of abductions range from 100 to over 300 residents, primarily women and children. Following the destruction of Ngoshe, survivors fled to the neighbouring town of Pulka, creating an immediate emergency.
Advertisement
300x250
By March 12, the Nigerian Army’s Northeast Joint Task Force (Operation Hadin Kai) successfully reoccupied Ngoshe after a counter-offensive.
Governor Babagana Zulum visited Pulka on March 22 to oversee the distribution of food and cash palliatives to the thousands of newly displaced families.
Senator Ali Ndume, who visited the affected communities alongside Governor Zulum, painted a dire picture when he spoke to journalists in Abuja. The senator representing Borno South Senatorial District warned that Nigeria could lose parts of the North-East to terrorists and called on the Federal Government to “double its efforts in equipping the Army with sophisticated arms and ammunition.”
Ndume said: “I gathered that our soldiers lack adequate ammunition, and they ran away from Ngoshe and Pulka because the terrorists overwhelmed them.
“It was days after reinforcement that they regained the place.”
However, Defence Headquarters was quick to reject this narrative. The Director of Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, countered the claim, asserting: “There is no basis to conclude that they will overrun the region.”
Was Ndume being alarmist, or was the military downplaying the crisis?
