An assault by Boko Haram aimed at taking over the key northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri has been repelled, the military said yesterday, roughly 12 hours after fighting began and just two weeks before national elections.

“The terrorists' attack on Maiduguri in the early hours of Sunday was quickly con-tained. The terrorists incurred massive casualty," defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said in a text message. "The situation is calm as mopping up operation in the affected area is ongoing."

Losing control of Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, would be an enormous defeat for the security forces, whose handling of the six-year Islamist uprising has been fiercely criticised.