A local source told PRNigeria that the Boko Haram fighters rode on ten motorcycles and were attacking motorists travelling on a road that passes through the two communities before the hunters and vigilantes stormed the scene.

Six motorcycles, as well as assorted weapons, belonging to the terrorists, were recovered after the heavy fight along Maiduguri-Magumeri Road in Borno State.

The vigilante team headed by one Malam Aisami led the hunters in the fight against the terrorists.

The corpses of the terrorists, and their motorcycles, were taken to Magumeri, PRNigeria learnt.

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During the ambush, five soldiers, three vigilantes and one Civilian JTF lost their lives, while 19 soldiers and one Civilian JTF sustained various degrees of injuries.

The bodies of the late soldiers and civilians have been evacuated to Maiduguri while the injured are receiving commensurate medical care and are in stable condition.

The troops destroyed the terrorists Gun truck and recovered two Anti-Aircraft guns, two spare Gun barrels, one General Purpose Machine Gun, one Rocket Propelled Grenade, one AK-47 Rifle and 320 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

A statement by Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, deputy director, Army public relation, said the troops have been mobilized into blocking positions to further neutralize fleeing Boko Haram terrorists.

“Please recall that another set of troops had earlier cleared Zira, Abulam, Dusula, and Buk villages before returning to base in Bulabulin,” he said.

In a related development, based on information received about gathering of some suspected Boko Haram terrorists around Bori village, which is 16 kilometres away from Mainok, outskirts of Maiduguri, troops swung into action and neutralized them.

The troops recovered 3 Motorcycles, 1 hand Grenade, 1 round of 7.62mm ammunition, Solar panel, a pair of Niger Republic military camouflage uniform, 1 Gionee mobile telephone handset, 1 Wet Cell battery and half bag of groundnut.

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More than 30 people were killed in the attacks overnight into Friday in north-eastern Borno state, residents to the BBC.

The raids took place as the UN Security Council approved sanctions against the terrorist group.

It is five weeks since Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls, prompting international outrage.

President Goodluck Jonathan travelled to South Africa for discussions with other African heads of state on combating terrorism in Africa following on from last weekend’s summit hosted by France.

Earlier his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, said African presidents should take responsibility for their failures and resolve their own conflicts together.

“I find that our leaders, who should have been working together all along to address these problems that only affect their countries, wait until they are invited to go to Europe. Why does anybody wait for that? What image does it even give about Africa?” he said.

Residents from two of the villages that came under attack said militants had arrived in a convoy and gathered the men of the community together.

They accused them of being members of vigilante groups and killed them all, one villager from Moforo in Marte district who escaped across the border to Cameroon told the BBC Hausa service.

They then burnt down all the shops in the market, leaving the villagers destitute, he said.

Correspondents say that most villages have formed vigilante groups to try to protect their communities from militant attacks.

A resident of Kimbi village in Biu district said the villagers contacted the security forces to alert them to their attack, but were told it was not an area under military control so they could not be helped.

The military has not commented on the allegation.

About 25 men were killed in Moforo, another eight men in Kimbi. It is not known if there were casualties from a raid early on Friday on Kabrihu village near the Sambisa forest.

The latest attacks came after another deadly village raid in Borno and twin bombings which killed 122 in the central city of Jos on Tuesday. The authorities also suspect Boko Haram of being behind those attacks, but there has so far been no claim of responsibility from the group.

Boko Haram was added to the UN Security Council’s al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee’s list of designated entities on Thursday at the request of Nigeria.

US envoy Samantha Power said it was an “important step” in support of efforts to “defeat Boko Haram and hold its murderous leadership accountable”.

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