Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima visited Maiduguri, in Bornu State on Wednesday, pledging to restore “full peace” after a triple suicide bombing killed 23 people in one of the deadliest attacks in years.
The Monday evening assault targeted a central market, a post office area, and the entrance to a leading hospital—moments after residents broke their Ramadan fast.
“I was at the market selling fara near the police post,” recalled victim Monday Ezekel, 38. “We were just sitting there when suddenly the bomb exploded.”
The VP promised: “We are here to commiserate with the government and people of Borno state,” Shettima said at the scene. “We will not rest on our laurels until full peace and sanity is restored in Borno, the Northeast, and the nation as a whole.”
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The attack comes as fighters from Boko Haram and rival Islamic State West Africa Province ramp up strikes on military and civilian targets.
On Wednesday, the military announced it had killed 80 jihadists planning to attack a military position in Borno state.
Chief of Defence Staff General Olufemi Oluyede, who rushed to the city hours before the VP, acknowledged an “upsurge of attacks within the last one month”—often coinciding with Ramadan. He urged community cooperation: “The people are complicit. All hands must be on deck.”
