Herders suffer in fight against Boko Haram

But the war, which killed thousands of people, is still taking its toll in the northeast, despite President Muhammadu Buhari's vow to crush Boko Haram by the end of last year.

The group, now officially allied to the Islamic State fighters who control much of Iraq and Syria, has responded with suicide bombings and hit and run attacks against civilians.

In the latest shock to civilians, meat has become scarce as the army has closed cattle markets to stop Boko Haram from raising funds by selling livestock, officials say.

The shutdown of the Maiduguri cattle market - one of the biggest in west Africa - has, overnight, made hundreds of cattle traders, herdsmen, butchers and labourers unemployed.

"We are suffering," said Usama Malla, a cattle herdsman who lost his job. While he spoke, an angry crowd quickly gathered to criticise the government. "We want compensation," others demanded.

The sprawling market had been one of the main employment opportunities for the more than one million displaced people who live in camps on the outskirts of the town after fleeing Boko Haram.

Officials say they were forced to shut the market because Boko Haram has resorted to stealing cattle from villagers to feed its fighters and raise funds after the army pushed it out of cities. Cattle looting has displaced its previous sources of income: robbing banks and kidnapping wealthy people.

The market closure has disrupted beef supplies in Maiduguri and the rest of Borno state, adding to the hardship of people who have long complained of poverty and neglect in the north - struggles that prompted some to join Boko Haram's revolt.

"I cannot afford meat anymore," said Musa Abdullahi, a labourer sipping milk sold by a female street vendor. He said he has to feed two wives and nine children, and can't remember the last time he was able to buy meat for the family. "I used to get a piece of meat for 350 naira ($1.75), now it costs 900."

Borno state governor Kashim Shettima said he had reopened the Maiduguri market to trade existing stock but banned the arrival of any new cattle for two weeks so authorities could identify sellers.

"There were suspicious persons who sold cattle which they had bought from Boko Haram," he said. "This is financing the terrorists."

The closure has left some 400 animals dying in trucks stopped by the army on the way to Maiduguri, traders said.

Officials say authorities plan to distribute food and find jobs for the city's youth. But options are limited as a slump in vital oil revenues has undermined Buhari's plans to develop the north, which is poorer than the mostly Christian south, where Nigeria pumps its oil.