Christopher Musa, the Minister of Defence has said that the bomb explosions in Maiduguri, Borno State in March 2026 were well calculated to disrupt President Bola Tinubu’s visit to the United Kingdom.
Musa was reported to have made the claim while speaking on the country’s security situation and efforts to combat terrorism during an interview on Arise Television on Friday.
Tinubu was criticized and condemned by many Nigerians and political elites over the UK state visit, despite the bombing in Maiduguri.
However, Musa said the aim of the bombing was either to prevent Tinubu from undertaking the trip or to weaken his position abroad.
He urged Nigerians not to allow themselves to be used to destabilise the country, saying that people who flee troubled nations often face discrimination abroad.
Speaking on his experiences in conflict-affected countries including Sierra Leone and Liberia, the minister stressed the need for Nigerians to unite to tackle insecurity and stop further violence.
You’d hear bombs going off from here and there,” he said. You keep hearing about vehicle-borne IED, body-borne IED and all these things.
“You don’t hear them now. You hear them maybe once in a while here and there and most of it is political stuff.
“The last ones that happened in Maidugri, Borno State, were meant to dissuade the President from visiting UK.
It was on purpose, and if you look at it, who and why? What did you hope to accomplish?
“The idea is to make sure that the president doesn’t go there (UK), or even if he goes there, he doesn’t have any leverage to want to speak.
“And to tell you that is purposeful. That was planned purposely and that was done to make that point. It’s very unfortunate but we want to appeal to Nigerians not to allow anyone to use them for any reason.
“Your country is yours. If you let your country be destroyed, you go to another person’s country, you’re a second-class citizen.
“We’ve seen it happen. I was in Sierra Leone, Liberia and different places, war is not good. It’s important that we come together and address this issue and stop it.”
