At least 23 people have been killed and 108 injured by a series of suspected suicide bombings in Maiduguri, marking one of the worst recent attacks on the capital of Borno state.
A post office, a popular weekly market, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital were hit within minutes of each other at around 19:30 local time on Monday, police in the north-eastern state say.
The sites, which are among the city's busiest locations, had drawn large crowds after the day's Ramadan fast was broken.
Nigeria's military has blamed the attack on militants from the notorious Boko Haram group, which originated in Maiduguri and has long plagued the region with violence.
However, after intensified military operations had pushed armed groups into remote border areas, the state capital had been enjoying a relatively stable period.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the incidents were carried out by suspected suicide bombers. Modu Bukar, a resident who witnessed the market blast, described the scene: We were sitting when we suddenly heard a loud explosion. Everyone immediately started running in fear.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu condemned the attacks as profoundly upsetting and characterized them as the desperate acts of the evil-minded terrorist groups. He has ordered security chiefs to respond to the situation in Maiduguri, which had recently been experiencing a decline in violence, although threats from Boko Haram and other jihadist groups persist.
The scale and location of Monday's attacks have shaken residents who had cautiously begun to feel a sense of normalcy.
