The 7 Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri on Sunday said the early morning explosion in the out-skirt of Maiduguri emanated from routine testing of military equipment.
Speaking to newsmen on Sunday, spokesman of the Division, Col Tukur Gusau, urged residents not to panic.
“It is a routine test firing of our weapons to ensure that they are in a state of readiness,” he said.
Earlier reports spoke of multiple explosions Sunday morning at Kayamla Dalori neighborhoods and along the road from Bama, in the southeast of the city, where on Thursday four suicide bombers killed at least 14 people.
“The explosions occurred around 7:00 (0600 GMT), I do not know if the terrorists are preparing to invade the city, but the sound of explosions was really huge,” Yusuf Kursi, an employee of the University of Maiduguri near the site of the explosions told AFP.
Khadija Mustapha, a resident of Dalori, about ten km southeast of Maiduguri, said she had left her house for fear of being caught in the explosion: “I went to another neighborhood with my three girls, because I do not know what’s coming, “she said by ensuring that several neighbors had done the same.
According Amodu Bashir, a resident of Gomari, on the way to Damaturu, west of Maiduguri, Boko Haram insurgents might want to invade Maiduguri, the birthplace of the movement born in 2009.
“They have already destroyed several small villages in the area and may wish to continue their offensive,” he has said.
