Less than 24 hours after suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked Ajilari community at the outskirts of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, three explosions rocked the city on Monday evening.
Unconfirmed reports revealed that the incidents happened near the Post Office area at the heart of the city’s Monday Market and at the main gate of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
The incidents happened at about 7:15 p.m creating chaos in the area.
An amateur video obtained by Channels Television showed victims of the explosions being evacuated for medical attention to one of the hospitals in the state capital.
Police Confirm Explosions
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Nahum Daso, confirmed the incidents.
According to him, preliminary reports revealed the explosions happened at the Post Office area and the main entrance of University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, but he had yet to confirm the one at the Monday market.
“Yes, there were reports of explosions at University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital main gate and Post Office area, but the one at Monday Market, I have no information, but I will get back to you as soon as I have it,” Daso said.
He explained the number of casualties were still sketchy as the victims had been taken to different hospitals in the state capitals, adding that he did not have the records at the time of filing this report on Monday night.
But some residents in the area feared that the explosions might have claimed several lives and injured many others.
A media aide to the Borno State Governor, Dauda Iliya, was quoted by the AFP as saying that “agencies are trying to confirm if there are any casualties” from the Monday blasts at the market and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
An AFP reporter at the hospital saw dozens of wounded people seeking treatment.
Idris Suleiman Gimba, who works with the National Blood Service Commission, said there was also a blast near the post office.
Earlier, suspected jihadists launched an overnight attack on a Nigerian military post on the outskirts of Maiduguri.
Maiduguri, a key northeastern city, had not seen such violence in years.
Another attack took place in the Damboa local government area, south of Maiduguri.
Fighters from Boko Haram and rival jihadist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have recently stepped up attacks in the North-East.
Their 16-year insurgency has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million.
