Suspected insurgents on Thursday night reportedly attacked Banki, a border town in Borno state, and carted away weapons from a military barracks.
According to Reuters, the attack, which occurred in Bama LGA, began around 9:30pm on Thursday and lasted into the early hours of Friday, causing soldiers to flee their posts.
An internal security memo from the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a paramilitary group that supports the military in combating insurgents, said the assailants overran the town and invaded the barracks.
“The insurgents overran the town and entered the military barracks, seizing ammunition and weapons,” Reuters quoted the memo as saying.
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“The commanding officer and soldiers reportedly abandoned their positions, fleeing towards Cameroon and leaving civilians behind.”
The insurgents had arrived in large numbers, forcing troops to retreat after heavy gunfire, and later regrouped and returned to the town on Friday morning.
The Nigerian Army has not commented on the incident.
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Banki, once occupied by Boko Haram a decade ago, has suffered repeated attacks from the group and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The decades-long insurgency has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Borno, the epicentre of the conflict.
