A terrorist group of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) Saturday, armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, opened fire on a convoy of soldiers and an anti-jihadist militia in Kwayamti village, 60 kilometres (36 miles) north of the regional capital Maiduguri.
According to a report by AFP, the ambushed convoy was on its way to the town of Baga on the shores of Lake Chad, about 140 kilometers away, as a security detail for the state governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, who flew by helicopter earlier in the day.
An undisclosed security source confirmed the death of seven soldiers and one militiaman in the attack.
According to the source, “The death toll from the ambush is now eight. The bodies of two more soldiers were recovered. It is now seven soldiers and one militiaman killed”.
Reports says Zulum was in Baga to distribute food to residents who returned to the fishing town two months ago, six years after they fled a deadly jihadist raid.
Meanwhile, victims who were displaced by the terror jihad group have been advised to return to their homes, since feeding them in the camp was no longer sustainable
Meanwhile, there are concerns from aid agencies who noted that it was not safe for them to return.
ISWAP which split from the main Boko Haram faction in 2016, keeps its camps in islands on Lake Chad — where Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad meet — the group’s stronghold.
Nwada Ugochinyere Onyechere reporting, Obinwannem News
