Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu described attacks in the northeast’s most heavily defended city as “the final desperate” acts of militants trying to spread fear.
Many experts say the opposite is true, that the blasts were a sign of strength not weakness.
An assault on Maiduguri by coordinated suicide bombers points to state intelligence failures and the capacity of Islamist militants to hit urban areas despite waves of government operations against them, they said.
It is still not clear which of Nigeria’s militant groups carried out the attack, underscoring the complexity of a sprawling 17-year insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions more from their homes.
Given a spate of other attacks in recent weeks carried out by both Boko Haram militants and Islamic State, West Africa Province, an Islamic State allied faction, some analysts said that there could have been a degree of coordination between the often rival groups.
“We have to see this as the groups oozing confidence in their ability to wreck terror in that part of the country,” said Ikemesit Effiong, partner at Market Intelligence, and Strategic Consulting firm.
“We think this is the start of a spate of bombings, not just in Maiduguri but also less protected urban areas in the northeast.”
Tinubu said on Tuesday he had approved additional equipment and support for the military, which he promised would “completely defeat” the militants, repeating pledges made by previous administrations.
As violence has spread within Nigeria, including to the northwest, the United States (US) military has recently carried out air strikes and deployed military advisers.
It was not immediately clear whether US troops would be involved in any response to the bombings.
–Reuters–
