Fed-up Nigerian Adamawa hunters take on Islamic terrorists
As a child, Aisha Bakari Gombi used to hunt with her father searching for big game in forests in the northeast of Nigeria. Now animals no longer roam there, and Aisha chases a different prey – Islamist insurgents from Boko Haram, one of the world’s deadliest armed groups that has ravaged her country for nearly a decade.
Aisha leads a vigilante group that helps government forces fight Boko Haram militants in the Adamawa state. Hunters say they can't stand aside while mass kidnappings, rapes, and killings still happen, despite Boko Haram being contained in a few pockets in the countryside. The Adamawa hunters use homemade weapons, secret potions believed to protect them from bullets, and their knowledge of the mountains and forests help track down the terrorists.
An RTD crew met the Boko Haram hunters to learn more about their counterinsurgency and the female leader, whose bravery has already won her heroine status in local folklore. We also hear from a Boko Haram victim who managed to escape her captors, but still finds it hard to be accepted by her community.
Photo gallery
-
26:101211413 January 2017 00:00
-
49:38463822 September 2017 00:00
-
52:001034105 July 2017 00:00
-
25:42467405 November 2012 00:00
-
24:42271213 October 2014 00:00
-
48:59534827 October 2014 00:00
-
26:35469414 December 2015 00:00
-
14:0011309 April 2021 17:00
-
26:05140707 January 2015 00:00
-
27:37346026 April 2017 00:00