TheCable

At least 70 lecturers have resigned from the University of Maiduguri since 2009 owing to the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east.

Dani Mamman, chairman Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Maiduguri chapter, who disclosed this to the BBC, said the number of students enrolling had dropped significantly since the insurgency started in Maiduguri.

He also said the university had employed lecturers to replace those who left.

The university has recently been targeted by suicide bombers, most of whom are young women.

In July, authorities in Borno state began digging a 27km (17 miles) trench around the university to prevent attacks by militants.

Two weeks ago some staff of the university, who were hired by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to explore the Lake Chad basin for oil, were killed in an ambush by Boko Haram.

Three members of the exploratory contingent, who are staff of the university, are still in captivity.

But Ibrahim Njodi, vice-chancellor of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), has said the search for oil in the Lake Chad basin will continue despite the attacks.