Fighters from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province in trucks and on motorcycles stormed the base in the town of Magumeri, 50 kilometres Maiduguri late on Friday.
The militants overran the base for hours, hauling away weapons before they were forced out.
“The terrorists dislodged troops from the base after an intense fight,” a military officer told AFP.
“We lost weapons and equipment to the terrorists but it is not clear if there was any human loss,” said the officer, who asked not to be named.
The jihadists arrived in the town around 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) and engaged troops in an hour-long fight before they “gained the upper hand and chased the troops away,” militia leader Gremah Kaka told AFP.
“The insurgents overpowered the soldiers and forced them to flee into the bush,” he said.
Kaka said they stayed in the base for “more than four hours” before they were dislodged by reinforcements from another base in Gubio, 46 kilometres away.
ISWAP has since July last year targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that saw the jihadists kill scores of soldiers. The military authorities have always denied any casualties.
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