Boko Haram extremists shot dead nine fishermen in a village near the shores of Lake Chad in northeastern Nigeria, a leading fisherman and a survivor said on Wednesday.

Boko Haram extremists shot dead nine fishermen in a village near the shores of Lake Chad in northeastern Nigeria, a leading fisherman and a survivor said on Wednesday.

The men were heading towards the fishing town of Baga on Tuesday when they were stopped by the militants, dragged out of their van and gunned down, said Abubakar Gamandi, head of the fishermen's union in Borno State.

"From the information I got from survivors of the attack, nine of my members were killed by Boko Haram gunmen on their way to Baga from Monguno.

They were ambushed at Maduwari village," he told AFP.

"Soldiers engaged the attackers in a gunfight and killed 13. They also recovered an all-terrain vehicle from the gunmen as well as the vehicle of the victims."

Two vans were taking a group of 17 fishermen to Baga when the convoy spotted the militants blocking the way ahead, said Grema Ari, who was in the second vehicle and survived the ambush.

"They dashed into the road when they heard us approaching. Our driver managed to turn back and headed to Monguno," he told AFP.

The vehicle in front was forced to stop however and its passengers were brought out and shot dead, Ari and Gamandi said.

"Later soldiers brought the bodies of our nine colleagues bearing bullet wounds to Monguno," Ari told AFP.

"They also brought the vehicle that was conveying our colleagues and another one belonging to the gunmen."