Though the war on terror in northeastern Nigeria is often pictured with a male face and baritone voice, a lot of women are also putting their lives on the line in the hopes of seeing peace return fully to the region.
Ever since Amina had to watch as her husband was killed, she’s made herself a thorn in the flesh of those responsible for his death, dedicating her life to making sure others do not suffer the same fate.
Mohammed had done nothing wrong. One morning in 2013, as he took his breakfast, Boko Haram terrorists stormed the couple’s house in the Gwange area of Maiduguri. They had been pursuing a young woman living in the neighbourhood who was an informant to the military and thought she must’ve entered the house.
Amina and her husband had no idea she had sneaked in and told the invaders no stranger was with them. So, when the terrorists looked around and found her, they became angry.
“Kill him,” Amina tearfully recalls one of them saying in Kanuri. Three gunshots followed. The bullets pierced Mohammed’s shoulder and chest. He was killed instantly.
That same year, as people picked up sticks across Maiduguri and formed vigilante groups with the aim of uprooting Boko Haram from their communities, Amina knew right away that she had to be a part of the movement. “I joined them to avenge my husband’s killing and defend my community,” she explains, her lips and eyes twitching in a way that bears testimony to underlying anguish.
Those vigilante groups later came to be known as the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) — or informally as ‘Yan Gora (stick-wielding people). Members work together with the Nigerian military to identify, arrest, and fight members of the terror group. They are also deployed to repel attacks. Because they were drawn directly from the affected communities, they acted passionately but also prudently, their involvement reducing the rates of arbitrary arrests by soldiers.
Since it erupted in 2009, the Boko Haram crisis has directly caused the death of at least 34,000 people and indirectly killed over 300,000 others. It has displaced millions of people, including over 343,000 Nigerians seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. What’s more, it has pushed over 8.4 million people into extreme lack and a life of dependency in the northeastern region.
The war against terrorism has wavered in effectiveness over the years as the insurgents continue to adapt to new strategies. Aside from the CJTF, another establishment that fills security gaps at the grassroots and in ungoverned spaces is the association of hunters. But unlike the CJTF, it is not open to just anyone. The privilege is inherited, passed from generation to generation. So it was the natural choice for Nawi, a hunter’s daughter, when she joined five years ago.
Her husband too was shot by Boko Haram in 2013, as he lounged in their front yard. She heard the gunshot from inside the house and was jolted by the sight of his lifeless body when she stepped out. She is not sure why he was killed. He was, after all, only a driver.
“Maybe they suspected that he may have a rapport with security officials or had made bad statements about them.”
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