Boko Haram Seizes Nigerian Military Base - AFP

A report today by Sunday Trust newspaper says that suspected Boko Haram militants have defeated the Nigeria military and seized a base outside Baga, near Lake Chad.

The development followed a fierce battle that lasted several hours, witnesses said.

A local resident, Usman Danssubdu, told AFP after fleeing to neighbouring Chad following the militant’s raids on Saturday, "They overwhelmed the troops and forced them to abandon the base which the gunmen took over."

According to the report, the base was being used by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which was established in 1998 to battle cross-border crime but whose mandate was expanded to fighting Boko Haram when the Islamist group emerged.

The MNJTF comprises troops from Nigeria, Niger and Chad.

The report added that hundreds of fear-stricken residents from Baga and five other Nigerian towns and villages have poured into neighbouring Chad to escape Boko Haram raids on their homes on the shores of Lake Chad.

Speaking to AFP by telephone, Dansubdu said, "We are now seeking refuge in Gubuwa, Kangallam and Kaiga villages inside Chad near the border with Nigeria.”

Also on Saturday, suspected Boko Haram gunmen raided the town of Babban Gida, 50 kilometres from Damaturu, the capital of neighboring Yobe State.