Maiduguri: Troubled city in darkness

For 11 months in 2021, Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria has been without electricity due to attacks on transmission lines by terrorist groups that have been waging war against the state for more than a decade. The attacks have impacted the government and businesses in a more devastating way to the residents than the havoc of the twelve-year insurgency. This report captures the deep-seated frustration of the war-weary Borno people, business owners, humanitarian organisations and government workers who used to depend on public electricity for daily operations. It is a riveting account of how hospitals, schools, courts and other public institutions struggle to deliver public service in the midst of endless human misery without electricity supply. Ajibola AMZAT reports.