Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) had an hours-long firefight with troops after attacking a base on the outskirts of Geidam — 180 kilometres (112 miles) from the Yobe state capital Damaturu — early Wednesday before laying siege to the town, residents said.
Residents told AFP that they could not say if any troops or jihadists were killed in the gunfight.
“We have been forced to stay indoors since Wednesday by soldiers who warned everyone not to step outside,” Abubakar Musa, a resident of Geidam, told AFP by phone.
Two military officers, who spoke to AFP anonymously, said the curfew was necessary because ISWAP militants had “surrounded” the town of about 89,000 residents and could launch renewed attacks.
“The terrorists are lying low outside the town while soldiers are patrolling inside. So the situation is really critical,” a military officer said.
But Geidam district deputy political administrator Kaka Bukar Zanna said troops did not inform residents before locking down the town.
In a post shared online, Zanna said soldiers assaulted and injured him when he ventured outside.
A picture in the post showed a stitched gash on his partly shaven head following the assault.
“We were not informed about any curfew beforehand, but I was assaulted and injured in the head by soldiers… despite identifying myself to them,” Zanna said in the post.
The attack on the base began at around 1:30 am when residents were asleep.
They were told to stay indoors at daybreak, resident Usman Kabir said.
The curfew has left residents who depend on daily income in despair as most have “little or nothing to eat”, he told AFP.
“Most people live on what they make daily and staying indoors without food and other essential needs has put people in a dire situation,” said Kabir.
Jihadist groups Boko Haram and its splinter group-turned rival ISWAP have attacked Geidam and the base on multiple occasions in the past.
In 2021, ISWAP seized the town for several days, killing dozens and looting provision stores before setting them on fire, prompting residents to flee the town.
Yobe state, like its neighbour Borno, has borne the brunt of jihadist violence, including deadly raids on villages, military bases, schools and markets, as well as mass abductions.
ISWAP split from the mainstream Boko Haram in 2016 due to an ideological rift and rose to become a formidable group in the region.
The 17-year violence has killed tens of thousands and displaced around two million from their homes in Nigeria’s northeast, according to the UN.
