Crime Watch: IGP Visits Borno Bombing Victims, Reassures Residents On Enhanced Security
The IGP emphasised that security across Maiduguri has been significantly tightened, with enhanced police deployments, and increased surveillance.
Inspector General of Police Tunji Disu visiting victims of the Borno bomb blast in the hospital on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has visited victims of the recent IED explosions receiving treatment at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) and conducted an on-the-spot assessment at the Maiduguri Monday Market bombing site.
As part of ongoing engagements, the IGP also visited the Borno State Government House and the State Police Command Headquarters to review security measures and strengthen coordinated response efforts.
IGP Disu commiserated with the victims and their families, expressing sympathy over the tragic incidents, while assuring residents of the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to dismantling all networks responsible for the attacks and preventing any recurrence.
He emphasised that security across Maiduguri has been significantly tightened, with enhanced police deployments, increased surveillance, and robust joint operational measures in place to forestall further threats and ensure public safety.
READ ALSO: Terrorists May Have Deployed Multiple Suicide Bombers Into Maiduguri – Army
On Tuesday, police authorities in Borno said 23 people were killed in the bomb blasts that rocked the state on Monday.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that the incidents were carried out by suspected suicide bombers. Regrettably, a total of twenty-three (23) persons lost their lives, while one hundred and eight (108) others sustained varying degrees of injuries,” the spokesman of the Borno State Police Command, Nahum Kenneth-Daso, said.
A combined team of police tactical units, the military, and other joint security operatives has been deployed to the affected areas.
The victims have been evacuated by emergency responders, while those injured are receiving medical attention.
Security Chiefs Ordered To Maiduguri
Following the attack, the Nigerian government ordered security chiefs to relocate to Maiduguri, Borno State.
President Bola Tinubu, in condemning the incident, described it as part of the “desperate and frantic attempts by criminals and terrorist elements trying to instil and spread fear” among people owing to pressure from security forces.
He said the government is beefing up security across the country and has “directed security chiefs to move to Maiduguri to take charge of the situation.
“I have also directed the emergency agencies to provide proper care for the injured,” Tinubu wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
Members of the Nigerian Red Cross carry a body bag at a hospital in Maiduguri on March 16, 2026, following blasts in the city.
The president said the incident is “profoundly upsetting” but warned that “There is no place in Nigeria where terrorists will find safety.
“We will locate them, confront them, and completely defeat them.”
“We will continue to intensify our efforts against all criminal elements, wherever they may be,” Tinubu promised.
He lauded the “courage and fighting spirit of our patriotic troops” for their efforts in repelling the “coordinated attacks by these terrorists on military positions in the state”.
Listing efforts by his administration to address insecurity, the ex-Lagos State governor said he recently “approved additional equipment and operational support to enhance their capabilities.
“This effort is already in progress,” he said.
