Hundreds of residents who fled their homes earlier this month after jihadists raided a military base have returned to their town in northeastern Nigeria, despite an increase in jihadist attacks.

On May 12, fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked a military base in Marte, a town in Borno state, killing four soldiers and seizing weapons before torching the facility.

Surviving troops and local residents fled to another base in Dikwa town, 38 kilometres (23 miles) away.

“The soldiers who were supposed to protect us fled, leaving us behind,” said one resident, Goni Babagana, 48, upon returning to Marte.

Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum warned that the displaced population could become potential recruits for jihadist groups.

Zulum said the town, once made up of 300 communities, had been reduced to just “one standing village”.

If residents abandon it, he said, the entire district could fall to ISWAP.

ISWAP and its rival Boko Haram have escalated attacks in the region in recent weeks and stepped up assaults on military bases.

A spate of attacks in April killed at least 100 people, with jihadists targeting at least 10 bases in the last two months, according to an AFP tally.

The largest wave of displacement occurred in 2014, when Boko Haram jihadists seized vast areas of territory, seeking to establish a caliphate in the region.

“We are beginning to witness a repeat of what happened in 2013–2014, when insurgents displaced numerous villages,” Zulum said.

Most displaced people moved into camps in the regional capital, Maiduguri, relying on food handouts from international charities.

Others have crossed into neighbouring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.

Since 2018, the Borno State government has been returning displaced people to their communities despite international aid agencies voicing their concern about the persistent threat of jihadist attacks.

The authorities argue that the displacement camps are no longer sustainable and that people should go back home and rebuild their lives with government support.

Around two million people have been displaced since the 2009 jihadist insurgency and more than 40,000 have been killed in the violence.