The attack took place on Tuesday, the same day gunmen ambushed and killed at least 62 members of a volunteer vigilante group in Nigeria's northwestern Kebbi state in the worst violence to hit the state since mid-January.
Deputy Governor Samaila Dabai Yombe confirmed Tuesday's ambush and said a gunbattle ensued in the town of Kanya that resulted in casualties but he did not provide any details on how many people had been killed.
"We entered into terrorist ambush who opened fire on our entourage ... as we approached a sharp bend ... on our way to Wasagu," Yombe said.
The ambush occurred at around 4:30 pm on Tuesday, residents said, adding that 18 soldiers and one police man were killed during the attack while 8 others were wounded.
"I counted 19 bodies from Tuesday's ambush in Kanya. They were loaded into two ambulances for transport to Birnin Kebbi," Bashir Bala, a local radio journalist said.
Gunmen have spread terror across the northwest, where they have kidnapped hundreds of school children and villagers for ransom.
In January, dozens of gunmen on motorbikes ransacked a village and killed more than 50 people in Kebbi.
The violence has compounded the problems in northern states, which are typically poorer than those in the south.
(Reporting by Garba Muhammad; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Sandra Maler)
