Nine Feared Dead, Several Injured in Borno Bus Stop Bombing

A deadly explosion has claimed the lives of at least nine people and left several others injured at a bus stop in Mairari village, located in Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State.

According to eyewitnesses, the blast occurred around 11 a.m. on Saturday and was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) believed to have been planted by terrorists. The bomb detonated while civilians were waiting to board commercial vehicles.

The Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdulkarim Lawan, confirmed the incident, expressing sorrow over the loss of his constituents.

“It is unfortunate that nine of my resilient constituents were killed by planted IEDs while waiting to board vehicles at a local bus stop in Mairari village,” he said.

Lawan offered prayers for the deceased and wished the injured a swift recovery, noting they were receiving treatment in hospitals in Monguno and Maiduguri.

He lamented the renewed wave of terrorist activity in the region. Mairari, once resettled with full civil authority, has now been abandoned again due to repeated attacks by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters.

According to the Speaker, many displaced residents who had taken refuge in Monguno, Guzamala, and Maiduguri often return to Mairari to farm, making them vulnerable to terrorist surveillance and attacks.

“Unfortunately, terrorists monitoring their movements planted IEDs at the local bus stop, which exploded while they were waiting to return to their destinations,” he explained.

Lawan called on the Nigerian military and security agencies to intensify operations to reclaim Guzamala—particularly Gudumbali, the council headquarters, and Mairari village—which remain under terrorist control.

Efforts to get a statement from the Borno State Police Command were unsuccessful. While spokesperson Nahum Daso initially answered a call from reporters, he did not speak and later failed to respond to follow-up calls and text messages.

This attack follows another deadly incident just days earlier. On May 29, 2025, SaharaReporters reported that nine members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) were killed during an overnight ambush in Marte, Borno State, by suspected ISWAP or Boko Haram insurgents.

According to a report from the Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU) Base 8, the attack occurred around 1:10 a.m. on May 27. Despite being outnumbered, CJTF members fought back and repelled the insurgents, inflicting heavy casualties.

Tragically, while attempting to recover the body of a fallen comrade, CJTF personnel triggered another IED left behind by the retreating insurgents. The explosion killed nine of them instantly. The report also noted that several civilians captured during the attack were later executed by the militants.

“They planted IEDs, and as CJTF members went to retrieve the body of one of their deceased comrades, they stepped on it. Nine of them died instantly,” the situation report stated.

These recent attacks underscore the persistent threat of terrorism in Nigeria’s North-East and the urgent need for reinforced security measures and humanitarian support for displaced communities.