Terrorists used tricycles to deliver b0mbs in Borno att∆cks — Ndume

Terrorists used tricycles to deliver bombs in Borno attacks — Ndume

A federal lawmaker, Senator Ali Ndume, has alleged that the suspected suicide bombings that killed at least 23 people and injured over 100 in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Monday were carried out using commercial tricycles, also known as Keke NAPEP.

The blasts, which occurred around 7 p.m. during the breaking of the Ramadan fast, targeted crowded areas, including the Post Office vicinity, Monday Market, and the entrance to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

Police attributed the attacks to suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers using improvised explosive devices.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District, said the terrorists’ tactics remain largely unchanged.

According to him, the terrorists rely on a “hit-and-run” strategy.

“What they do is hit and run. They gather around, pass information around them, and then they now, most dangerously, they get information from some citizens too. They have informants within the society,” Ndume said.

He added that attackers use everyday tricycles as a delivery method.

“You can imagine even the bomb that exploded, it was delivered by Keke NAPEP. They package it and give people in Keke NAPEP to deliver in specific spots,” he said.

Ndume warned that more attacks could be imminent, noting that other devices or bombers may still be circulating in the city.

He pointed to a critical intelligence failure as a major enabler of the assaults.

“The problem is lack of adequate intelligence,” he stressed.

The senator expressed outrage over the terrorists’ boldness, revealing that they record and disseminate footage of their atrocities on social media platforms like TikTok.

“You can imagine the bandits, the terrorists in Nigeria have the audacity to be recording their atrocities on TikTok and then disperse and sending it out to people,” Ndume said.

He argued that if ordinary citizens’ phones, such as his own, can be tracked by security agencies, then the movements and communications of terrorists should equally be traceable.