"The death toll keeps mounting," said one source yesterday involved in dealing with the aftermath of Tuesday's attack near Magumeri, adding: "Now we have more than 50 and... more bodies are coming in."
Details of the ambush, which was initially thought to be a kidnapping attempt, have been slow to emerge, as the military strictly controls access to Borno state, which has been the epicentre of Boko Haram violence.
Telecommunications and other infrastructure have been severely damaged or destroyed in the conflict, which has left at least 20,000 dead and more than 2.6 million homeless since 2009.
But an aid agency worker in Magumeri, which is 50 kilometres (32 miles) northwest of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, said: "As at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT) yesterday (Wednesday), 47 bodies were recovered from the bushes around Magumeri.
"Eleven of them were badly burned in the attack. They were burned alive in their vehicle, which was stuck in a trench.
"We buried them here because they couldn't be taken to Maiduguri.
A medical source at the Nigerian Army 7th Division headquarters at Maimalari barracks in Maiduguri said: "So far we have 18 dead soldiers. Ten were brought yesterday and eight more today."
At the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), a medical worker said: "We have 19 bodies at the moment of civilians. Fifteen of them were vigilantes (civilian militia) and four were staff from the university.
"They have been taken for burial."
The head of the academic staff union at the University of Maiduguri, Dani Mamman, confirmed they had received four bodies and said two of them were academics.
"But we were shocked when we were given four dead bodies. This means it wasn't a rescue.
"We still have other staff that are yet to be accounted for.
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