Nigerian soldiers on Wednesday repelled an attack byBoko Haram jihadists on the northeast city of Maiduguri, security sources andresidents said this. The attack, the latest in a wave of assaults byIslamist gunmen, was repulsed hours before President Muhammadu Buhari was sworninto office for a second term in power. Soldiers intercepted a “huge number” of fightersfrom Boko Haram on the outskirts of Maiduguri on Tuesday night, beginning anight-long battle that continued until close to dawn on Wednesday. Troops fought all night, and “forced them to withdrawby dawn,” the source said. A member of a self-defence militia, that fightsalongside regular troops, said Boko Haram forces were spotted as they movedtowards the city in the dark. Boko Haram militants have launched several failedattempts to overrun Maiduguri. Their decade-long campaign of violence has killedtens of thousands of people and displaced millions across the region.