The insurgents wearing military uniforms in two Hilux vans mounted with Anti Air Craft guns, were ambushed by gallant troops in Tunkushe, located about 20 kilometres to Maiduguri, the Borno capital.

A military source told PRNigeria that the attackers were suspected to be from the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

“The attempted attack by the terrorists was repelled by the troops of 212 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in a very strategic ambush in a heavy gunfight that lasted for more than 30 minutes.

“While two soldiers were wounded in the encounter, at least three dead bodies of the attackers can be seen here as the troops are still pursuing fleeing members of the group

“Items recovered from the insurgents include; one gun truck mounted with Anti Air Craft gun, AK 47 rifle, buffen radio and various types of other ammunition. Several traces of blood were also seen along the route where the remaining insurgents escaped in disarray,” he concluded.

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Four out of the remaining five abducted aid workers of Action Against Hunger (AAH), an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), were reportedly killed on Friday.

The insurgents blamed their action on an alleged breakdown of talks with the federal government.

Reacting in a statement by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson, Buhari said the defeat of evil by good is inevitable “no matter the pyrrhic victory evildoers seem to win” .

The president commiserated with the families of the deceased and reiterated his administration’s commitment to “beat evil” in the country.

“The President feels saddened by the claimed development, and commiserates with the family and loved ones of the aid workers, who had offered themselves to serve humanity at grave risks,” the statement said.

“The aid workers had been abducted near Damasak, Borno State, in July, and had been held despite all efforts to secure their release, till their alleged execution.

“Evil will always be defeated by good at the end of the day. Whatever seeming victory evil records, eventually rebounds on the evildoer.

“We are resolved to beat evil in this land, and we remain unrelenting till we achieve it.”

Buhari asked all insurgents to lay down their arms, and rejoin humanity.

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Six people were abducted in July near the town of Damasak, in the state of Borno, where Islamist insurgents operate.

Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), which split from the militant group Boko Haram that began its insurgency in 2009, has become the dominant jihadist group in the region. The decade-long Islamist insurgency has caused the deaths of some 30,000 people and driven 2 million to flee their homes.

Action Against Hunger said one of its employees, two drivers and three health ministry workers were abducted. In September it said one of the hostages had been killed.

On Friday, the humanitarian agency said the group claimed to have killed four of the remaining five hostages.

“Action Against Hunger condemns these latest killings in the strongest terms and deeply regrets that its calls for the release of the hostages have not been acted upon,” it said.

It also called for the “immediate release” of its staff member, Grace, who remains in captivity.

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The, according to a statement by Garba Shehu, President condemned the gruesome murder of aid workers, who had made sacrifices and risked their lives to provide succour for traumatized people, urging humanitarian organisations not to be discouraged by the cowardly acts of terrorists.

President Buhari notes that the humanitarian spirit of aid workers had impacted greatly on the operations in the North East, appreciating them for all the sacrifices.

The President called for the release of all those taken hostage by bandits and terrorists across the country, and beyond.

President Buhari assures all humanitarian workers, especially those in the North East, and citizens held in captivity that his administration will intensely pursue and ensure their freedom by “using every possible means at the disposal of government”.

“As the joint military operations by Lake Chad Basin countries destroy the terrorists in the remaining pockets of their dens, with many of them already fleeing the sub-region region, we give assurances that efforts will be intensified by this government, working with neighbouring states, to free all hostages. We will practically and completely erase terrorism from this country and the entire sub-region,” he said.

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Salkida disclosed this through his Twitter handle on Wednesday.

The six aid workers, five male and a female, were kidnapped by members of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) after their convoy was attacked in Damasak, Borno state.

In a video obtained after the abduction, one of the victims identified as Grace pleaded with the federal government, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the international community to come to their rescue.

The journalist said the deceased, a male, was shot at a close range in a video seen by him.

According to him, the insurgents alleged that they took the action because “the government deceived them”.

“Just In: #ISWAP has executed one of the six aid workers, working with the Action Against Hunger that was abducted two months ago in Borno,” he tweeted.

“One of the male aid workers was executed at close range in a short video clip seen by this reporter.

“The group, in a horrific video of the execution, said it took the action because ‘the government deceived them’ following months of what is now known as secret negotiations between a team of intermediaries and unnamed officials.

“ISWAP has also threatened to execute the other remaining staff of the International Non-Governmental Organisation (ACF/AAH). Recall, the INGO was declared persona non grata last week by the @HQNigerian Army for aiding terrorism in the region, an allegation the INGO denied.”

Last Thursday, the army shut down the offices of AAH in the north-east over allegations of providing food and healthcare to the insurgents.

The army had accused NGOs of providing humanitarian support to the insurgents, warning that “it will not hesitate to sanction any such recalcitrant organisation as appropriate”.

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The sources said the attack happened shortly after midnight in the compound of a traditional chieftain in the district of Kaiga-Kindjiria. The attacker walked in and detonated her bomb just as people in the compound were preparing to go to bed, they said, without giving further details.

Lake Chad, which sprawls across Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, is a stronghold for the two main factions of Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram: Boko Haram itself and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) splinter group.

Violence in the region has killed more than 30,000 people and displaced about 2 million since 2009, when Boko Haram first launched an uprising with the intention of carving out an Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria.

Jihadists in the Lake Chad region have routinely ambushed soldiers, opened fire on markets and kidnapped women and children, including nearly 270 schoolgirls in the village of Chibok in 2014, a hundred of whom are still missing.

In June, West African troops killed 42 suspected Islamic State fighters in a battle in the Lake Chad region, the heaviest death toll suffered by the insurgents in the last six months.

But they continue to show themselves capable of devastating hit-and-run attacks. Last month, an attack by suspected Islamists on a group returning from a funeral in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state killed at least 65 people.

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