Coordinated suicide bombings hit three sites in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Monday evening. Explosions rocked the Monday Market, the Post Office area, and the gate of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital around 7:24 pm. The blasts killed 23 people and injured 108 others.
The African Democratic Congress criticised President Bola Tinubu for remaining abroad during the crisis. In a statement on Tuesday, African Democratic Congress national publicity secretary Bolaji Abdullahi expressed sympathy for the victims.
He said, “Terrorism anywhere in Nigeria is an attack on all Nigerians. At moments like this, the country must stand together with the people who have been affected.”
Abdullahi added that Maiduguri had gained some stability after years of insurgency. However, he warned that fresh attacks now threatened daily life for ordinary citizens.
He stated, “Maiduguri, which in recent years had begun to experience a measure of stability after the darkest days of the insurgency, should not be returning to a situation where coordinated bomb attacks once again threaten the safety of ordinary citizens going about their daily lives.”
Moreover, Abdullahi noted that such incidents required full national leadership. He declared, “Moments like this demand the full and undivided attention of the nation’s leadership. It is therefore troubling that the President is currently outside the country at a time when such a serious attack on national security occurred.”
The African Democratic Congress called on Tinubu to cut short his state visit to the United Kingdom and return home immediately. Abdullahi stressed, “The ADC therefore calls on President Tinubu to return immediately to the country and show, for once, that he cares about something else other than his politics.”
The party also urged the government to pay compensation to families of victims and accept full responsibility for security failures. Abdullahi concluded that protection of lives remained the primary duty of any administration.
