Maiduguri attacks: What they signal for Nigeria

A series of recent deadly suicide blasts in Maiduguri— the heart of Nigeria's long‑running Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency— has shattered years of relative calm in the city. The conflict, which began in 2009 and has killed tens of thousands while displacing millions across the Lake Chad Basin, had appeared to wane as attacks grew less frequent after 2021. But insurgent groups rarely disappear; they splinter, regroup, and adapt. The latest strikes on soft civilian targets — a market, a hospital gate, and a post office — suggest that stability in northeastern Nigeria may have been overstated, raising new concerns about the effectiveness of counterinsurgency efforts and dealing a heavy blow to residents who had slowly begun rebuilding their lives.