In a calculated act of ideological warfare, insurgents used explosives and petrol bombs to raze a state-run primary school in the Gomari Costain area of Maiduguri, Borno State. This attack marked the fourth school destroyed in the city within a single week. These raids were typically carried out under the cover of darkness to avoid direct engagement with the military, focusing instead on the symbolic and physical destruction of “Western education” infrastructure.
28 Feb 2012 · Gomari Costain area, Maiduguri, Borno
Deaths
0
Injured
0
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
0
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
The Borno State Government expressed “extreme shock”. The government was forced to deploy night guards to hundreds of schools, but the sheer number of primary schools made static protection impossible, leading to the eventual temporary closure of many public educational institutions across the state.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Destroying secular education, spreading fear among teachers and parents, reinforcing ideological control.
Trajectory
The repeated burning of schools in Maiduguri in late February and early March 2012 forced the Borno State government to deploy night guards, but this measure failed to prevent further attacks, leading to the eventual closure of many schools.
Cycle notes
The Gomari Costain attack directly echoed the 27 October 2010 burning of Al‑Azhar Primary School in Maiduguri and the 2009 destruction of schools during the Boko Haram uprising. It also prefigured the 12‑13 June 2012 attacks on 10 schools in Maiduguri (3 burned, 7 looted) and the 11‑12 September 2013 attacks on 5 schools in Borno. The pattern of nocturnal school arsons became a recurring feature of Boko Haram’s campaign against Western education, with the group later escalating to the burning of entire educational complexes and the mass kidnapping of students.
Pattern
Attack on secular education
Related — Other
The Ali Ngulde-led faction of the Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād (Boko Haram) carried out a public execution of one of its top military commanders, Abou Hassana (also referred to as an "Amir Jaysh" or Leader of the Army), along with three of his alleged accomplices. The executions took place in front of a gathering of other fighters at Mandara Mountain in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, a location that once served as a major stronghold of the group. Abou Hassana was accused of attempting to raise an independent faction within the group to lead his own terror campaigns in Koltafirgi village (also known as Gaizuwa in Sambisa Forest). According to security analysts, Hassana and his co-accused were tried by the group's leadership, sentenced to death, and then publicly eliminated. The execution was ordered by Ali Ngulde, the second highest-ranking leader in the Boko Haram hierarchy, as a decisive measure to crush internal dissent and maintain the faction's cohesion. Following the executions, Alhaji Ari Hajja Fusam, a native of Bama who had previously led Boko Haram fighters in Gaizuwa before being dislodged by the military, was promoted to replace Hassana.
A suicide bomber drove a saloon car packed with explosives toward the Christ Chosen Church of God on Rukuba Road in Jos, Plateau State. The attacker first tried to target two other churches — St. Peter’s Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) — but was prevented from entering by Boys Brigade members guarding them. He then drove to the Christ Chosen Church, where there was no security, and crashed into the premises. The bomber detonated the vehicle at the entrance after being blocked by security measures. The blast levelled the church building, collapsing the roof, and sent debris across the area. An usher and another worshipper were killed instantly, while the pastor, Monday Uzoka, his wife and two children were among the 52 victims admitted to hospital, with the pastor in a “very critical situation”. The Red Cross later reported that at least 50 people were wounded. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack.
A devastating Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) detonated in the middle of a crowded Monday market in the Monday Market area of Maiduguri. The bomb was concealed in a charcoal-carrying pickup truck. The explosion occurred during peak afternoon trading, incinerating dozens of shops and several vehicles parked nearby. This attack took place exactly three months after the Chibok schoolgirl abduction, adding to a period of extreme regional instability.