Maiduguri (/maɪˈduːɡʊri/ my-DOO-guurr-ee) is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria, on the continent of Africa.

The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the Firki swamps in the areas around Lake Chad.

The city was once known as a "hub of Islamic scholarship in West Africa that ... [taught] tolerance and hospitality like its welcoming neem trees.

Since the mid-1960s, Maiduguri has witnessed outbreaks of large inter-religious riots with members of religious sects leading intercommunal violence in 1982 and 2001.

[8][9]On 18 February 2006, riots related to the Muhammad cartoons published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten left at least 15 people dead, and resulted in the destruction of approximately 12 churches.

[15] In late July 2009, Maiduguri was the worst-hit location of major religious violence in northern Nigeria committed by Boko Haram, which left over 700 people dead.

[20] On 26 January, CNN reported that the attack on Maiduguri by "hundreds of gunmen" had been repelled, but the nearby town of Monguno was captured by Boko Haram.

[29] In 2019, Amnesty International (AI) and Concerned Nigerians (CN) called for investigation into alleged abuse of women and children in the facility.

[30] Tramadol addiction has become a concern in the Maiduguri region, as Boko Haram fighters and local residents turn to the drug to cope with physical pain, personal loss, and the emotional consequences of violence.

[citation needed] Its residents are mostly Muslim including Kanuri, Hausa, Shuwa, Bura, Marghi, and Fulani ethnic groups.

[40] As a result of chemical reactions involving moving vehicles and the release of gases that can cause inhalation into the deepest parts of the lung, Maiduguri is currently experiencing particulate dust, a harmful air pollutant.

[41][42][43] The city lies at the end of a railway line connecting Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kafanchan, Kuru, Bauchi, and finally Maiduguri.

[48] A 2009 survey of property markets in Nigeria positioned Maiduguri as the third most expensive for buying and renting in after Abuja and Lagos.

A journalist who described local commerce wrote that "on the edge of the city, never-ending lines of lorries spend days waiting to take their cargoes to Dikwa and beyond to neighbouring Cameroon.

"[48] "Transport of goods to land-locked countries such as Chad, Central African Republic and Sudan" has suffered due to road ambushes.

Members of Maiduguri's official Association of Firewood Sellers provide labor for tree replanting efforts.

[50] An additional source of support for displaced persons is a mobile phone-based cash distribution site which was set up by the World Food Programme and the Nigerian Government.