Kaduna - At least 19 soldiers were killed in Nigeria's Kebbi state as gunmen attacked the deputy governor's convoy, residents said on Wednesday.
The attack took place on Tuesday, the same day gunmen ambushed and killed at least 62 members of a volunteer vigilante group in Nigeria's north western Kebbi state in the worst violence to hit the state since mid-January.
Deputy Governor Samaila Dabai Yombe confirmed Tuesday's ambush and said a gunbattle ensued in the town of Kanya that resulted in casualties but he did not provide any details on how many people had been killed.
“We entered into a terrorist ambush who opened fire on our entourage ... as we approached a sharp bend ... on our way to Wasagu,” Yombe said.
The ambush occurred at around 4:30pm on Tuesday, residents said, adding that 18 soldiers and one policeman were killed during the attack while eight others were wounded.
“I counted 19 bodies from Tuesday's ambush in Kanya. They were loaded into two ambulances for transport to Birnin Kebbi,” Bashir Bala, a local radio journalist, said.
Gunmen have spread terror across the north west, where they have kidnapped hundreds of school children and villagers for ransom.
In January, dozens of gunmen on motorbikes ransacked a village and killed more than 50 people in Kebbi.
The violence has compounded the problems in northern states, which are typically poorer than those in the south.
Reuters