More than 50 Nigerians were killed on Sunday in clashes between security forces and militants in the northeastern city of Bauchi, residents and hospital sources said, according to Reuters.
The fighting began early on Sunday when around 70 militants armed with guns and explosives attacked a local police station in retaliation for the arrest of their leaders.
Police and soldiers repelled the attack and then raided neighborhoods to arrest those responsible. Hospital sources and residents said more than 50 people were killed in the fighting.
A Reuters reporter counted 32 bodies at two Bauchi police stations and said dozens were wounded among the more than 200 arrested. The official government death toll is 39, including one soldier.
"We have pre-empted the militants. Otherwise the situation would have been bad," Bauchi state Governor Isa Yuguda told reporters.
"I'm calling on all the people of Bauchi to be calm and be rest assured the situation has been brought under control," he added.
The governor imposed a night time curfew in Bauchi for the next few days to calm tensions. There was an increased police presence in some neighborhoods, but businesses remained open and people were milling the streets freely before the curfew.