Nigeria police say 14 died in Maiduguri attack, acting president visits city

An attack by Boko Haram jihadists on the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri killed 14 people, police said on Thursday, the first official toll.

The fighters had attacked the city’s suburbs on Wednesday night with anti-aircraft guns, said Damian Chukwu, police commissioner of Borno State, of which Maiduguri is the capital.

The attack was the biggest on the city for about 18 months.

Nigeria’s acting president is visiting Maiduguri after the attack which injured 24 others, his spokesman said on Thursday.

Yemi Osinbajo, to whom President Muhammadu Buhari handed power after going to Britain on medical leave on May 7, is in the city to launch an aid initiative for people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency, spokesman Laolu Akande tweeted.

Maiduguri is the epicentre of the eight-year fight against Boko Haram, and has been largely free of violence for the past two years.

Reuters