Bama

Bama is a town and local government area in the central part of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria, about 60 kilometres from the state capital Maiduguri. It is the only local government area in the Bama Emirate. The population is dominated by Kanuri speakers: a 2023 demographic survey of internally displaced people found Kanuri was the most commonly reported home language at 77.6 percent, followed by Hausa, Kokata, Mafa, Shuwa Arabic and Wandala. The postal code of the area is 610, and the area has a subtropical steppe climate, classed as BSh, with a yearly average temperature near 31.9 degrees Celsius. Bama was attacked by Boko Haram in May 2013 and February 2014, was seized by the group on 2 September 2014 and was reported recaptured by the Nigerian army on 16 March 2015. In June 2016 the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres described a catastrophic humanitarian emergency in a camp for people fleeing Boko Haram near the town.