Operatives of the Borno State Police Command successfully neutralised an unexploded ordnance (UXO) planted beneath a telecommunications mast in Maiduguri on Monday, averting a potential disaster in the state capital.
According to a statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Nahum Daso, the device equipped with two protruding wires was discovered around 11:06 am in the Chuskon area of Federal Low Cost. Alerted by the Divisional Police Officer of ITE Division, Commissioner of Police Naziru Abdulmajid promptly deployed the Explosive Ordnance Disposal-Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) Base 13 team to the scene.
The specialised team swiftly cordoned off the area, rendered the device safe following strict procedural protocols, and recovered items left at the site, including a hand plier, a T-shirt, and a pair of shoes. Preliminary investigation suggests the UXO was strategically placed to cause maximum damage, though the perpetrators remain unidentified as inquiries continue.
In the aftermath, police conducted community sensitisation, urging vigilance and the immediate reporting of suspicious objects. CP Abdulmajid has also directed intensified patrols and enhanced protection for critical infrastructure, highlighting communication facilities as vulnerable targets for sabotage.
This incident underscores the persistent threat in the region, occurring just one day after Nigerian Air Force airstrikes targeted terrorist logistics in southern Borno. It echoes previous security recoveries, including an unexploded IED found on a Dikwa farmland in August 2025 and multiple ordnances displaced by floods in November 2024.
As normal activities resume in the Federal Low Cost area, residents are urged to maintain heightened alertness.
