Hunting Boko Haram: Nigerian Warrior ‘Queen’ Leads Flintlock-Armed Fight Against Islamist Extremists

Aisha Bakari Gombi (center), leader of the anti-Boko Haram vigilante squad in Nigeria. 

© Screenshot / RT Documentary

They used to hunt animals with spears and sticks, but now, wielding ancient rifles and led by a fearless warrior ‘queen’, a Nigerian vigilante squad goes after Boko Haram, one of the most violent jihadist groups in Africa.

Boko Haram roughly translates to ‘Against Western Education’. Its ruthless militants have been plaguing Sub-Saharan Africa for decades.

The Islamists know no mercy, as their attacks wreak havoc on Nigerian towns and rural villages. When they aren’t setting off bombs, they raid the area for hostages. While doing so, Boko Haram often targets women and girls.

In 2014, the group kidnapped 276 female students from a school in Chibok. Most of them have still not been rescued, and similar incidents keep occurring.

Nigerian soldiers hold up a captured Boko Haram flag. March 2015. © Emmanuel Braun / Reuters

In remote regions, it is up to ordinary citizens to help the army fight the terrorists. And so, the Civilian Joint Task Force was born. These loosely affiliated vigilante squads patrol the northeastern states of Borno and Adawama, where Boko Haram is most active.

The squads are made up of experienced hunters. But instead of wielding spears and sticks, like they did in the past, they now roam the bush searching for militants.

One such squad is led by Aisha Bakari Gombi. “I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I joined. I was still very little,” she says. “The grown-ups used to carry me on their shoulders during hunts.”

Aisha at first just used a bow and arrow. Later she received an “ancient” Turkish rifle. After the previous commander was killed, the woman was named Adamawa’s ‘warrior queen’. Her team is diverse, ranging from old men to teenage boys who recently enrolled in middle school.

“We’re supporting the efforts of our government to restore peace in our country,” the ‘queen’ notes. “We’re trembling, we’re scared, but we’re hunting Boko Haram.”

The hunters are chiefly armed with homemade rifles, some with flintlocks. They wear black clothes, and rely on amulets and war paint instead of body armor. They lack medical supplies to treat the wounded, and the only transportation available is via tuk-tuks, or motor-rickshaws. The hunters’ only advantage is that they know the area well and can track down terrorists in their hideouts.

Members of the anti-Boko Haram vigilante squad travel by motor-rickshaw. © Screenshot / RT Documentary

“There’s one operation I’ll never forget,” hunter Abubakar Hamma Adama describes an expedition against the jihadists in one of Nigeria’s remote villages.

“Eventually, we found their camp and opened fire, but they just kept coming and coming and coming. That was a hell of a battle. We took heavy losses.”

video 25:39

Desperate Venezuela Tried to Buy Medicine with Diamonds, Gold

Venezuelan currency is bordering on worthless and it's just

getting worse as the economy appears to be in full collapse

By Sara Shayanian 

A group of people walk in front of a liquor store that was looted in Caracas, Venezuela.

Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA

UPI -- Venezuela's struggles to front $5 billion in debt to pharmaceutical companies have gotten so dire the government tried to swap diamonds and other precious items for medical supplies.

The cash-strapped country proposed an exchange of diamonds, gold and coltan, a rare metal used to make cellphones, for medicines from foreign suppliers to combat a shortage of medical items in the nation's hospitals.

According to the Wall Street Journal, it's not clear the the pharmaceutical companies accepted the deal, but they told government officials they didn't have rules saying whether they could fill non-monetary purchases.

Nevertheless, the proposed exchange illustrates the struggle of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro to pay for goods as the country's economy collapses.

Venezuela, which has the largest known oil reserves in the world, is running out of money due to years of negligence and corruption that have resulted in $141 billion in debt to international bondholders and creditors.

The Venezuelan Bolivar weakened over 97 percent in relation to the U.S. dollar and inflation in the country has increased to 4,115 percent.

Bartering has become commonplace in Venezuela, especially in transactions between Venezuelans trying to acquire sought-after staple items.

Caracas store

"Money was created so that we could avoid having to barter for basics," Omar Zambrano, a Caracas-based economist, said. "But we've fallen so far that we're now going back in time."

According to Caracas-based economic consultant Orlando Ochoa, using commodities to settle debts to pharmaceutical companies is extremely rare.

"It feels like a bluff," Ochoa said. "It's as if they want to show off their assets to give the illusion that there's still an intention of paying even though they can't pay."

Economists are warning that the economic situation could get worse, as hyperinflation may pass 30,000 percent in 2018.

"Those who are now predicting that Venezuela will close 2018 with an inflation rate of 5,000 don't really understand what is happening," Francisco Ibarra, head of the Econometrica company, told the Miami Herald. "We could hit that 5,000 mark already in February."