Less than 24 hours after the assassination of Sheikh Ibrahim Birkuti in Biu, Boko Haram launched a series of coordinated strikes across Maiduguri. The attackers targeted three distinct locations: a church and two separate police posts. Using a combination of IEDs and high-volume gunfire, the insurgents overwhelmed local security details before melting back into the urban residential wards. Police spokesman Lawal Abdullahi confirmed there were seven explosions across the city. The attackers hit the Gwange and Dandal police stations, while the seventh bomb went off next to a Catholic church (St. Patrick’s Church). A bomb hurled at the church missed its target and landed on the street, killing two passers-by. In a shootout with police at the Dandal station, three of the gunmen were killed.
7 Jun 2011 · Gwange, Dandal, and St. Patrick’s Church area, Maiduguri, Borno
Deaths
11
Injured
10
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
21
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
The Joint Task Force (JTF) increased its presence in the city, leading to the "Operation Restore Order" offensive. This specific wave of attacks prompted the military to begin the controversial practice of "sandbagging" major intersections throughout Maiduguri.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Sectarian intimidation, undermining state authority, demonstrating operational strength.
Trajectory
This period in June 2011 marked the end of the "Small Cell" phase. The transition to multiple, simultaneous strikes indicated that the group's "Command and Control" had moved from central Maiduguri to the peri-urban fringes, allowing for better-coordinated logistics.
Cycle notes
This mirrored the July 2009 uprising, but with a crucial difference: in 2009, the group stood their ground and died in mass shootouts. In June 2011, they used "urban guerrilla" tactics—strike, vanish, and let the IEDs do the work—which proved far more sustainable and difficult for the army to counter.
Pattern
The Double Tap
Sources
- https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/timeline-boko-haram-attacks-and-related-violence
- http://app.taihainet.com/print.php?contentid=703937
- https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/binaries/content/assets/customsites/perspectives-on-terrorism/2014/issue-6/boko-haram-attacks-in-nigeria-and-neighbouring-countries-a-chronology-of-attacks--ioannis-mantzikos.pdf
Related — Armed Attack
Following a humiliating defeat earlier in the month where local hunters and vigilantes repelled an insurgent raid, Boko Haram launched a massive "revenge" assault on Kala Balge. Hundreds of insurgents arrived in a convoy of technicals and motorcycles. Unlike other villages that fled, the residents of Kala Balge—known for their fierce local resistance—engaged the terrorists in a pitched battle. While the community successfully defended their center, the insurgents slaughtered 40 people, mostly on the outskirts and in surrounding farmsteads, before retreating
For the second time in less than two weeks, armed Bandits invaded the Bundu-Kahugu community in Lere LGA. The attackers arrived late at night under the cover of darkness, shooting sporadically to terrorize the sleeping residents. This follow-up raid resulted in three fatalities and the abduction of three other villagers, including a local woman, deepening the trauma of a community already reeling from a high-fatality attack on December 21.
Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgents conducted coordinated attacks on scrap metal collectors in Modu and Mugdala communities, Biu Local Government Area, Borno State. A total of 55 people were killed in the attacks, which took place over three weeks. The victims were targeted as they collected scrap metal—a livelihood activity for many displaced and impoverished residents.