Four people, including a soldier, were killed in an ambush by Boko Haram terrorists along Gwoza Limankara Road, 134 kilometres from Maiduguri.
They were slain in a convoy of civilian JTF and military personnel escorting travellers along the trip.
Several more motorists were taken by Boko Haram extremists while a military patrol van and five other vehicles were burned on fire.
According to a local source, the incident occurred at 5 p.m. on Saturday, but a failing network delayed communications until Sunday afternoon.
Motorists Still Missing
“I can inform you that about three civilians and a soldier were killed in a Boko Haram ambush along the Gwoza-Limankara-Uvaha Road.
“The deceased soldier was among the security agencies escorting motorists and passengers on that route.
“About five commercial vehicles and a patrol van belonging to the military were also set ablaze, several other motorists are still missing in the bush as of Sunday afternoon.”
But military authorities are yet to comment on the matter as of the time of this report.
The attack is the latest in Boko Haram assaults in Nigeria’s North-East region.
At least 40,000 people have been killed and more than two million others displaced since the hardline Islamist group launched a rebellion in 2009.
The insurgency has spread into neighbouring Chad, Niger, and Cameroon, prompting a regional military force to be set up to fight the militants.