VIDEO: Many Feared Dead As Bomb Blast Rocks Maiduguri Mosque On Christmas Eve

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) at a Juma’at Mosque in Gamboru Ward, around the Customs area in the heart of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The incident occurred at around 6:10 p.m. on Wednesday, less than 12 hours before Christmas, as Muslim worshippers were observing the Maghrib prayer.

Although information on the incident remains sketchy, residents told Channels Television via telephone that many worshippers were either killed or injured.

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However, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Nahum Daso, told Channels Television that from preliminary investigations, five persons have been confirmed dead so far, while about 35 others were injured.

The blast has already created fear among residents, especially within the Christian community, preparing for the 2025 Christmas celebration.

Security operatives have cordoned off the area to prevent further casualties and to allowa  preliminary assessment of the incident.

Nigeria has been battling a jihadist insurgency since 2009 in a conflict that has killed at least 40,000 and displaced around two million people from their homes in the northeast, according to the UN.

Though the violence has waned since its peak a decade ago, it has spilt into neighbouring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.

And concerns are growing about a resurgence of violence in parts of the northeast, where insurgent groups remain capable of mounting deadly attacks despite years of sustained military operations.

Maiduguri itself — once the scene of nightly gun battles and bombings — has been calm in recent years, with the last major attack recorded in 2021.

But reminders of the conflict are never far off in the state capital, where major military operations are headquartered.

Military pick-ups lumber through town daily, their beds filled with soldiers whose helmets shield them from the hot afternoon sun.

Evening checkpoints are still in effect, even as markets that once closed in the early afternoon throng into the night.

Meanwhile, in the countryside, the insurgency continues to rage, with analysts warning of an uptick in jihadist violence this year.