Donors at the African Union summit yesterday pledged $250mn for the fight against Boko Haram insurgents, AU Peace and Security Council chief Smail Chergui said.
Boko Haram, facing the heat of a military onslaught in Nigeria, has in the past year stepped up cross-border attacks in Niger, Chad and Cameroon, while continuing shooting and suicide assaults on markets, mosques and other mostly civilian targets within Nigeria itself.
Despite offensives by the regional force with troops from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, the Islamist jihadists maintain strongholds in areas that are difficult to access.
But Chergui praised the success of the force at the close of an AU summit on Sunday, saying territory had been wrested back.
“Great results have been achieved and we must consolidate these gains,” he said.
Chergui said $110mn came from Nigeria, with the European Union offering 50mn euros, as well as donations from Britain and Switzerland.
Chad’s President Idriss Deby, the African Union chairman, said it was crucial the money pledged was actually paid to show “our firm commitment in the fight against terrorism.”
Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said gains had been made but much more needed to be done.
“Boko Haram is no longer able to operate freely as in the past or control territories as they did,” he said.
“We are making tremendous progress in this battle, but we still need to remain vigilant, we need to share information and cooperate.”
Meanwhile, Borno State health commissioner Haruna Mshelia yesterday revised the death toll from the weekend attack to 85.
Hesaid 75 bodies were brought into the hospitals, while 10 others had been buried on Sunday.
He gave the new toll while briefing the state deputy governor and a military commander on Saturday’s attack in Dalori, some 12km from Maiduguri, the state capital.
Local residents and an unidentified aid worker had said on Sunday that some 50 people were killed in the attack.  
“A total of 65 bodies were deposited at the specialist hospital, 10 others are being deposited at UMTH (another hospital), while another 10 were buried yesterday evening at the Dalori community cemetery” Mshelia said.
He said 16 villagers were unaccounted for.
An eyewitness Bulama Malum said he saw more than 20 bodies burnt beyond recognition and that 15 villagers were missing.
A member of the civilian joint task force, assisting the military in the fight against Boko Haram said more than 100 were killed in the incident, the latest to hit the restive region.
“Even as at last night the people that died were over 100. I am sure many could have died today,” vigilante Musa Adamu told AFP.
“Anybody that tells you that the figure is less than 100 is just not saying the truth,” he said.
Saturday’s attack occurred near a camp for people displaced by the seven-year Boko Haram violence.
It also came as thousands of internally-displaced people were returning to camps.
The Borno State government has said it was planning to return some 50,000 displaced people to their home towns in the coming days.