Nigerian Army troops have arrested two suspects linked to the Christmas Eve mosque bombing in Gamboru Market, Maiduguri, Borno State, which killed five people and injured 32 others after a suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device (IED).
According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, the attack was reportedly coordinated by Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), Ansaru, and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
Intelligence sources cited by Makama indicate that a Boko Haram team led by Munzir Abu Ziyadah, a known IED expert, allegedly prepared up to 10 person-borne IED (PBIED) attacks from the Ali Ngulde camp axis.
The publication stated that the terrorists reportedly moved through the Ngoshe Mountains toward Gazuwa and Ngom, infiltrating several communities in Borno in preparation for the attacks, with the mosque bombing being one that succeeded.
Troops from Operation Hadin Kai arrested one suspect on Monday evening in Banki town, Borno, during joint operations and intelligence-led patrols. The suspect was reportedly intercepted with primed IED materials.
A second suspect, identified as Ibrahim, was apprehended in Damaturu, Yobe State, through collaboration with a local hunters’ group and was immediately taken to Maiduguri for questioning.
Makama reported that Ibrahim was brought to the Izala Mosque in the Tashan Joni area of Maiduguri, where he pointed to a location where he claimed to have dropped a bag containing an IED but could not detonate it. “However, the bag was not found at the indicated location,” the publication quoted a source as saying.
Further interrogation reportedly led Ibrahim to confess that he had assisted in the Gamboru Market mosque attack. He admitted placing a bomb in a bag at the mosque entrance while his accomplice, identified as Adamu (now deceased), entered the worship centre wearing a suicide vest and detonated it.
Ibrahim also stated that six suicide bombers were deployed to Maiduguri for the attack under the coordination of a terror kingpin. He named three of the bombers—Salisu, Yusuf, and Adamu—as residents of Maiduguri, while the other three—Adamu, Yusuf, and Abdullahi—allegedly came from Michika LGA in Adamawa State.
The publication added that a sweep of the region led security operatives at the Cameroon–Nigeria border to intercept a Peugeot vehicle carrying six bags of urea fertilizer, a key component in IED manufacture.
The driver and the consignment were taken into custody, and follow-up operations resulted in the arrest of the fertilizer dealer and the recovery of an additional six bags.
