Hunting Boko Haram

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.