Early period at Maiduguri National Museum The region was home to the
Kanem–Bornu Empire for centuries. Maiduguri actually consists of two cities: Yerwa to the West and Old Maiduguri to the east. Yerwa was founded in 1907 by
Abubakar Garbai of Borno as the capital of the Bornu Kingdom. The location before that had been a small village known as Kalwa. This involved the transfer of the capital of the
Kanuri people from
Kukawa. Old Maiduguri was selected by the British as their military headquarters in 1908, replacing
Mafoni. Maiduguri is one of the fifteen Local Government Areas (LGAs) that constitute the
Borno Emirate, a
traditional state located in Borno State, Nigeria.
Islamist violence Since the mid-1960s, Maiduguri has witnessed outbreaks of large inter-religious riots with members of religious sects leading intercommunal violence in 1982 and 2001. in Switzerland. The town had become a centre for commerce and colonial administration by the early 20th century.On 18 February 2006, riots related to the
Muhammad cartoons published by the Danish newspaper
Jyllands-Posten left at least 15 people dead, and resulted in the destruction of approximately 12 churches. Soldiers and police quelled the riots, and the government temporarily imposed a curfew. In 2002,
Muslim cleric Mohammed Yusuf founded the
Islamist jihadist group
Boko Haram in Maiduguri, establishing a
mosque and a
madrasa that attracted children from poor Muslim families from both Nigeria and neighboring countries.
Boko Haram attacks The city is the heart of the Boko Haram insurgency In late July 2009, Maiduguri was the worst-hit location of
major religious violence in northern Nigeria committed by Boko Haram, which left over 700 people dead. camp near the city sheltering people who are escaping harassment from Boko Haram On 14 May 2013,
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a
state of emergency in northeast Nigeria, including Borno State, due to the militant activity of Boko Haram. The entire city was under overnight
curfew, and trucks were only restricted to dusk-dawn from entering to protect civilian lives in the city. Twelve areas of the city that are known to be strongholds of Boko Haram are under permanent curfew. On 18 June 2013, Boko Haram militants attacked a school as students were taking an exam; nine students were killed. In 2014, Boko Haram bombed Maiduguri
in January,
in July and
in November. On 10 January 2015,
a bomb attack was executed at the Monday Market in Maiduguri, killing 19 people. In the early hours of 25 January, Boko Haram launched a major assault on the city. On 26 January, CNN reported that the attack on Maiduguri by "hundreds of gunmen" had been repelled, but the nearby town of
Monguno was captured by Boko Haram. The Nigerian Army claimed to have successfully repelled another attack on Maiduguri on 31 January 2015. On 17 February 2015, Monguno subsequently fell to the Nigerian military in a coordinated air and ground assault. On 7 March 2015,
five suicide bomb blasts left 54 dead and 143 wounded. On 30 May 2015, Boko Haram launched another attack on the city, killing thirteen people. In March 2017 Boko Haram
again bombed Maiduguri.
Giwa barracks The Giwa barracks and detention centre in Maiduguri has been subject to multiple attacks by Boko Haram. In 2014, reports suggested that 600 people were killed in an attack, though most were detainees killed by soldiers. It was attacked in January/February 2015, bombed in March 2015, and attacked again in May 2015. In May 2016,
Amnesty International released a report on the Giwa barracks detention centre, calling it a "place of death." The report alleges the facilities house about 1,200 people (including 120 children) and that many of these were detained arbitrarily. It further claims that 149 detainees had died in the first half of 2016, including 11 children. In 2019, Amnesty International (AI) and Concerned Nigerians (CN) called for investigation into alleged abuse of women and children in the facility.
Tramadol addiction has become a concern in the Maiduguri region, as Boko Haram fighters and local residents turn to the drug to cope with physical pain, personal loss, and the emotional consequences of violence. ==Climate==