Blasts in Maiduguri: UNIMAID Lecturers Have a Lucky Escape from Fatal Attack

Monday, 16th March, 2026, will be etched in the memories of Maiduguri residents, as a day of triple suicide bombings that struck at the heart of the city, claiming 23 lives and injuring 108 people.

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The blasts occurred at the bustling Monday Market, the Post Office area, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital's main entrance, at approximately 7pm, as Muslims were breaking their fast.

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The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Keneth Daso, disclosed the casualty figure, but many disputed it, insisting that the actual death toll was higher than 23.

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Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, warned that terrorist attacks would persist unless residents ceased being informants to the terrorists and stopped collaborating with them.

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Vice-President, Senator Kashim Shettima, accompanied by the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mrs. Zubaira Umar, visited the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, providing medical supplies, food, and cash to the victims and their families.

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General Oluyede and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Waidi Shaibu, were deployed to Maiduguri on the orders of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take charge of the situation.

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The suicide attack at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital's gate nearly claimed the lives of some professors and friends of the Chief Medical Director, Professor Ahmed Ahijo, who had narrowly escaped the blast after attending a breaking of fast ceremony at the CMD's residence.

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The Monday Market and Post Office area had previously experienced bomb blasts and suicide attacks, with many lives lost and others left incapacitated or deformed due to severe injuries sustained since the onset of the Boko Haram crisis in 2009.

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Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and suicide attacks had been used by terrorists to target these locations, resulting in significant loss of life and physical assaults, including shootings and killings.

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A source revealed that many professors and friends of the UMTH boss jumped over the wall to escape the blast, while others were approaching the gate or still at the CMD's house after breaking their fast.

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Another source disclosed that one of the CMD's friends lost his life in the blast immediately after arriving at the hospital's exit gate.

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A professor at the University of Maiduguri, who was among the invitees, recounted his narrow escape from the blast, stating that he had decided to leave the CMD's house and was driving away when he heard the loud sound of the explosion.

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The professor expressed gratitude for sparing his life, saying, "I thank God for sparing my life indeed," after learning about the suicide attack at the hospital gate.

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Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, accused some residents of being responsible for the perpetration of terrorist attacks by serving as informants to the terrorists and sabotaging military operations.

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Oluyede alleged that most of the people perpetrating the killings and destruction in the last 15 years of the Boko Haram crisis were from the affected states, citing intelligence reports and examples, such as the attack on Kukawa.

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General Oluyede stated that the people of Borno and Yobe states must take ownership of the war against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists, as the military was aware of the new tactics used by the terrorists, including the use of drones.

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Vice-President Kashim Shettima and the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Hajiya Zubaida Umar, paid a sympathy visit to the victims receiving treatment at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

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The Vice-President commiserated with the Government, the people of Borno state, and the North East, especially families of those who lost their loved ones during the suicide attacks, saying, "It's a tragedy, because no religion sanctioned the killings of the innocent."

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The National Emergency Management Agency, on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, delivered medical consumables, assorted medicaments, food, and non-food items to support the treatment of persons injured in the explosions and their families.