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Maiduguri

Capital city of Borno State, Nigeria

  • 8 min read
  • 9 chapters
Indimi Mosque Maiduguri Borno State Nigeria
Ifeatu Nnaobi · CC BY-SA 4.0

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History

Early period

The region was home to the Kanem–Bornu Empire for centuries. Maiduguri actually consists of two cities: Yerwa to the West and Old Maiduguri to the east. Yerwa was founded in 1907 by Abubakar Garbai of Borno as the capital of the Bornu Kingdom. The location before that had been a small village known as Kalwa. This involved the transfer of the capital of the Kanuri people from Kukawa.

Old Maiduguri was selected by the British as their military headquarters in 1908, replacing Mafoni. The same year it became the location for the British Resident Commissioner over British Bornu. In 1957, Yerwa became the designated name for the urban centre while 'Maiduguri' was officially applied as the name of the surrounding rural area. In 1964 the railway was extended here which led to its rise as a major commercial center in the region.

The city was once known as a "hub of Islamic scholarship in West Africa that ... [taught] tolerance and hospitality like its welcoming neem trees."

Maiduguri is one of the fifteen Local Government Areas (LGAs) that constitute the Borno Emirate, a traditional state located in Borno State, Nigeria.

Islamist violence

Since the mid-1960s, Maiduguri has witnessed outbreaks of large inter-religious riots with members of religious sects leading intercommunal violence in 1982 and 2001.

On 18 February 2006, riots related to the Muhammad cartoons published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten left at least 15 people dead, and resulted in the destruction of approximately 12 churches. Soldiers and police quelled the riots, and the government temporarily imposed a curfew.

In 2002, Muslim cleric Mohammed Yusuf founded the Islamist jihadist group Boko Haram in Maiduguri, establishing a mosque and a madrasa that attracted children from poor Muslim families from both Nigeria and neighboring countries.

Boko Haram attacks

The city is the heart of the Boko Haram insurgency and is the city which is most often attacked by the group. In late July 2009, Maiduguri was the worst-hit location of major religious violence in northern Nigeria committed by Boko Haram, which left over 700 people dead.

On 14 May 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in northeast Nigeria, including Borno State, due to the militant activity of Boko Haram. The entire city was under overnight curfew, and trucks were only restricted to dusk-dawn from entering to protect civilian lives in the city. Twelve areas of the city that are known to be strongholds of Boko Haram are under permanent curfew. On 18 June 2013, Boko Haram militants attacked a school as students were taking an exam; nine students were killed.

In 2014, Boko Haram bombed Maiduguri in January, in July and in November.

On 10 January 2015, a bomb attack was executed at the Monday Market in Maiduguri, killing 19 people. In the early hours of 25 January, Boko Haram launched a major assault on the city. On 26 January, CNN reported that the attack on Maiduguri by "hundreds of gunmen" had been repelled, but the nearby town of Monguno was captured by Boko Haram. The Nigerian Army claimed to have successfully repelled another attack on Maiduguri on 31 January 2015. On 17 February 2015, Monguno subsequently fell to the Nigerian military in a coordinated air and ground assault. On 7 March 2015, five suicide bomb blasts left 54 dead and 143 wounded. On 30 May 2015, Boko Haram launched another attack on the city, killing thirteen people. In March 2017 Boko Haram again bombed Maiduguri.

On 24 December 2025, a bomb explosion occurred in the Al-Adum Jumaat mosque near the Gamboru market during prayers which killed 5 people and injured 35. The police speculate a suicide attack. Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum condemned the attack stating that it is "utterly condemnable, barbaric and inhumane".

A 65 km long earthen berm around Maiduguri was constructed in order to provide protection against insurgents.

Giwa barracks

The Giwa barracks and detention centre in Maiduguri has been subject to multiple attacks by Boko Haram. In 2014, reports suggested that 600 people were killed in an attack, though most were detainees killed by soldiers. It was attacked in January/February 2015, bombed in March 2015, and attacked again in May 2015.

In May 2016, Amnesty International released a report on the Giwa barracks detention centre, calling it a "place of death." The report alleges the facilities house about 1,200 people (including 120 children) and that many of these were detained arbitrarily. It further claims that 149 detainees had died in the first half of 2016, including 11 children. In 2019, Amnesty International (AI) and Concerned Nigerians (CN) called for investigation into alleged abuse of women and children in the facility.

Tramadol addiction has become a concern in the Maiduguri region, as Boko Haram fighters and local residents turn to the drug to cope with physical pain, personal loss, and the emotional consequences of violence.

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