• Archbishop urges prayers against insurgency

Residents of Maiduguri have been urged to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious objects as security authorities continue efforts to consolidate the relative peace recorded in Borno State after years of insurgency.

The call came as the Borno State Police Command recovered an unexploded hand grenade from a drainage slab in the Moduganari area of Maiduguri metropolis.

The recovery, according to the command’s spokesperson, ASP Nahum Daso, followed a report received at about 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, August 15, 2026.

Daso said operatives of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal-Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) Base 13, Maiduguri, were immediately mobilised to the area on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, Naziru Abdulmajid, where they safely recovered the device.

He said the recovered ordnance had been secured for further examination, while investigations were ongoing to determine its origin and the circumstances surrounding its discovery.

The police spokesman commended residents for their vigilance and prompt response in alerting the authorities.

He also advised members of the public not to touch, move or tamper with suspected explosive devices, urging them instead to report such objects to the security agencies immediately.

The recovery came against the backdrop of renewed calls for sustained efforts to completely end the insurgency that has affected Borno and other parts of the Northeast for nearly two decades.

The Catholic Archbishop of Maiduguri Diocese, Most Reverend Oliver Dashe, on Saturday urged Christians to intensify prayers and fasting for an end to insecurity in the Northeast and the country.

Speaking to journalists after a church session marking the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Maiduguri, Dashe said prayers remained an important part of the struggle against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents.

The Archbishop, who has served in the diocese for 17 years, said the Church had continued to use prayers, the rosary, pilgrimages and other devotions to seek divine intervention for the people and the region.

“From the religious angle, we know that prayers will crush Boko Haram. However, we should know that as we pray, human beings must also do their work,” he said.

Dashe commended the relative peace currently being experienced in parts of Borno, noting that many residents who fled their communities during the height of the insurgency had returned.

He, however, stressed that the gains recorded so far must be sustained through continued prayers, vigilance and decisive action by the authorities.

According to him, governments at both federal and state levels must provide security personnel with the necessary support to confront terrorists in their hideouts.

“I call on the government, both at the federal and state levels, to do the needful in ensuring that security personnel are able to go to the forest and mountains in order to fetch these terrorists and their members for peace to return to our state and country at large,” he said.

The Archbishop also urged Christians to remain alert, describing prayerfulness as one way of maintaining vigilance in communities that have endured years of violence.

While the police recovery of the grenade highlights the need for continued public vigilance, the Archbishop’s appeal underscores the broader challenge of consolidating the relative peace in Borno.

For residents, security remains a shared responsibility, requiring timely reporting of suspicious objects and activities, sustained support for security agencies and continued efforts by the government to prevent insurgents from regaining ground.