On 30 November 1865, Maba Diakhou Bâ battled against Émile Pinet-Laprade at the Battle of Paoskoto, in a notable historical battle between the natives and the French colonizers.
Jihad leaders in the region who followed the Torodbe revolutionary tradition in the late nineteenth century included Maba Diakhou Bâ in the Gambia, Mahmadu Lamine in Senegal and Samori Ture who founded the short-lived Wassoulou Empire in what is now Guinea.
In this battle - The Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune (commonly known as the Battle of Somb), Maba Diakhou Bâ was defeated.
Thiam, Iba Der, Maba Diakhou Ba Almamy du Rip (Sénégal), Paris, ABC, Dakar-Abidjan, NEA, 1977