An improvised explosive device (IED), suspected to have been planted by ISWAP/Boko Haram terrorists, detonated along the Damboa–Maiduguri highway in Borno State. The victims, Blessings Luka and Gideon Bitterleaf (also reported as Bitaleaf Gedion), were staff members of the Damboa Local Education Authority (LEA). They were travelling from Damboa to Maiduguri to sit for the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) examination scheduled for 16 May 2025. The two men were seated in the front of a Toyota Hiace van or Toyota pickup truck transporting fresh mangoes when the vehicle struck the landmine. Both were killed instantly; other passengers in the vehicle sustained injuries.
12 May 2025 · Maiduguri–Damboa Highway, Damboa, Borno
Deaths
2
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
2
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the families . The District Head of Damboa, Alhaji Zanna Lawan Maina, confirmed the incident . Senator Ali Ndume called on the Federal Government to provide the military with more sophisticated weapons . An emergency security stakeholders' meeting was convened by the AIG Zone 15 in Maiduguri following the attack
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
The attack occurred on a key food supply route connecting Damboa to Maiduguri . By targeting education officials, the insurgents also sought to undermine governance and deter civil servants from working in frontline areas.
Trajectory
The IED attack was one of several on the Maiduguri–Damboa highway in 2025. It followed the April 12 IED blast (8 killed, 11 injured) and preceded the May 17 IED explosion (3 killed) and the May 30 Mairari bus stop attack (9 killed). This pattern indicates an intensified IED campaign by insurgent groups targeting civilian transportation corridors in Borno State.
Cycle notes
This attack echoes the long-standing pattern of IED attacks on civilian vehicles in Borno State, which have been a hallmark of the insurgency since its early days. The targeting of education officials specifically mirrors previous attacks on teachers and civil servants, representing a strategy to undermine state governance and deter public sector workers from operating in insurgent-affected areas.
Pattern
IED Explosion
Sources
- https://www.barnabasaid.org/de/news/suspected-islamist-ied-kills-two-christian-education-officials-in-borno/#search-modal
- https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/05/boko-haram-landmine-kills-two-education-staff-in-borno/
- https://dailypost.ng/2025/05/13/zulum-condemns-recent-iswap-boko-haram-attacks-condoles-victims/
Related — Bombing/IED
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