Nigeria's army chief visits Maiduguri following deadly suicide bombings

Nigeria's defence chiefs were in Maiduguri on Wednesday after one of the deadliest attacks in the Borno state capital in years.

Their visit follows a directive by President Bolo Tinubu to address escalating terrorism in the region.

At least 23 people died and 108 others were injured in a triple suicide bombing in the town on Monday, which the military has blamed on militant group Boko Haram.

"For us to end these acts of terrorism, the people of Borno State and Yobe state must take ownership of this problem,” said Nigerian chief of defence staff, General Olufemi Oluyede.

“The bulk of the people who are perpetuating this heinous acts are from these states. They are our brothers, our sisters, our cousins, and we know them."

That, he said, means that “the people are complicit”.

“So, for us to bring this to an end all hands must be on deck. Our people must resolve that this needs to come to an end, and must,” he said.

Fighters from Boko Haram and rival jihadist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have recently stepped up attacks in north-eastern Nigeria.

More than 40,000 people have died and two million others have been displaced in the their 17-year campaign to establish a caliphate in the country.

While Oluyede pledged that "this will not repeat itself" in the future, analysts say Nigerian forces are stretched thin.

They are also attending to separatists in the south-east, armed "banditry" in the north-west and farmer-herder conflicts in central states.

Monday's attack in Maiduguri follows a similar December mosque bombing, both of which harken back to the conflict's deadly peak a decade ago.

Some 71 suicide bombings were recorded in 2015, according to US-based conflict monitor ACLED, a number that in recent years had ticked down to fewer than five per year.

In 2025, it recorded 401 military confrontations, 104 bombings, and 141 attacks on civilians in Borno, cumulatively "the most since 2020” it said.

And in the countryside, jihadist tactics are changing and new armed groups - including from the neighbouring Sahel region - are entering the fray.

Since last year, ISWAP has stepped up assaults on military bases, attacking four installations Sunday evening into Monday, the army said.

Similar "coordinated" attacks on military sites were reported the week before.

In an assault overnight into Wednesday on a military position in Mallam Fatori, the army said it killed more than 60 jihadists, who attacked with "armed drones", a tactic on the rise in Nigeria and the Sahel.

High-profile attacks last year highlighted jihadist groups' increased presence outside the north-east, which they've cultivated for years.

A mass kidnapping of schoolchildren in Niger state, which security sources said was conducted by a Boko Haram faction, underscored the long reach of militant groups.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday continued his scheduled state visit to the United Kingdom where security cooperation, among other issues, was on the agenda.