Nigeria troops repel terrorist attack on army post in country's northeast

Terrorists launched an overnight attack on a Nigerian military post on the outskirts of Maiduguri, a key northeastern city that had not seen such violence in years, police, emergency services and residents said on Monday.

The attack occurred around midnight in the Ajilari Cross district, a southwestern suburb of Maiduguri and just a few kilometres from the city's airport.

Residents and emergency services said the military quickly repelled the attackers.

The neighbourhood was calm on Monday morning, AFP journalists saw.

'Sporadic gunshots and explosions'

Another attack was reported in Damboa local government area, south of Maiduguri.

Police said the incidents followed "widespread reports of sporadic gunshots and explosions" and were a result of "attempted infiltrations by suspected" Boko Haram terrorists.

"In a swift and coordinated response, joint security operatives who were already on heightened alert engaged the terrorists and successfully repelled the attacks, forcing the terrorists to retreat," police spokesperson Nahum Kenneth Daso said in a statement.

He said no casualties were recorded among the military or civilians, adding the terrorists were believed to have suffered casualties.

Repelled

An emergency services spokesperson in Borno state, whose capital is Maiduguri, told AFP they had received "reports of attacks" by non-state armed groups and that these had been "repelled by the military", with no civilian casualties reported.

Residents reported four deaths on the attackers' side.

"At about 12:15 am this morning, we started hearing gunshots coming from the military base. Later, we realised it was an attack by terrorists believed to be Boko Haram," Ajilari Cross resident Mustapha Aminu told AFP.

"We counted four corpses of the attackers," he said.

First-time attack

Another resident, Yakaka Ali Gana, said: "This is the first time attackers have stormed our community and attacked the military base."

The military has yet to comment.

Maiduguri had been relatively calm in recent years, with attacks peaking in the mid-2010s.

The last major attack dates back to 2021, when Boko Haram terrorists fired mortars at the city, killing 10 people.