The battle against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North Eastern region of Nigeria may be far from over as the insurgents seem to have upped the scale of suicide attacks in Borno State.

Multiple explosions were reported in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital and its environs Sunday night.

Local sources told reporters that a suicide bomber attacked a Civilian Joint Task Force, CJTF, check point around Muna garage while another set of bombers attacked Kalleri ward.

The Daily Trust Newspaper quoted one Alhaji Mala, a resident of Kalleri that three people were killed Sunday night by the bombers.

“They would knock on our doors when we open, they quickly grabbed people and detonated IEDs,” Mala was quoted as saying.

Similarly, a Nigerian army officer and five soldiers were killed on Saturday evening in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants on the 27 Taskforce Brigade of the Nigeria Army in Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.

A military source told journalists that some of the affected soldiers have spent over 20 years in active service, adding that the slain captain had just been posted to the Brigade before the attack.

The source also said that the casualty on the side of Boko Haram could not be ascertained because most of them fled with bullet wounds and many copses were seen scattered in the bush.

Spokesman of the Brigade, George Okupe, confirmed that there was indeed an attack, but he could not confirm the casualty figure, saying that the army authorities were on the trail of the militants and details were not available.

Recall that the Nigerian military had on Christmas eve 2016 announced the capture of the Sambisa Forest, and with it, the end of the insurgency.

It also said that leader of the terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau, had escaped during the operation, leaving behind his flag and Quran, which the army said it later recovered and would present to President Muhammadu Buhari.

But two days after, Shekau appeared in a video posted on the internet by the insurgent group, urging President Buhari and the Military to stop lying to Nigerians.

The Boko Haram leader said that the group were safe and had not be destroyed as claimed by the army, vowing that the fight to establish an Islamic caliphate in the whole of Northern Nigeria would continue.