17 soldiers.

Also on December 1, ISIS claimed ISWAP killed eight Nigerian soldiers and wounded 17 others in an attack near Gamboru. The Nigerian Army said that it captured weapons and stores during “offensive patrols” in the area, but did not mention army casualties.

The military on November 30 lashed out at the media, saying some media outlets were “creating erroneous impression of the Nigerian Army through inaccurate and false publication of casualty figures.”

The military has even threatened legal action against organisations publishing unofficial figures.

On December 14, the military briefly banned the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF from operatiing in northeastern Nigeria. The military claimed UNICEF was training spies to sabotage counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts. The suspension was lifted several hours later.

Borno and Yobe states, along with nearby Adamawa state,have born the brunt of nine years of jihadist violence that has claimed 27,000 lives and forced 1.8 million people to flee their homes.

The recent surge in Boko Haram attacks has increased pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari, who was elected in 2015 on a promise to defeat the Islamists and has repeatedly said they are virtually defeated. His administration wants to show it is winning the fight against Boko Haram ahead of a presidential election in February at which he will seek a second term in office.

With reporting from AFP