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Hunters seek to join Nigerian troops fight Boko Haram in forest

Xinhua, January 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Hunters in Nigeria's restive northeast Borno state on Sunday called on the military to allow them to join in the war against insurgents in Sambisa forest.

"We are ready to pursue the terrorists because we know the terrain very well," Malam Mai-Gana Mai-Durma, the chief hunter told a news conference in Maiduguri, the state capital.

Sambisa forest is the major stronghold of the terrorist group which has claimed the lives of no fewer than 20,000 innocent people since 2009.

The call became imperative because the hunters were familiar with the terrain at the dreaded forest, the hideout and operational base of the terrorists, he added.

He said the military should align them with members of the vigilance group, popularly known as the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) for effective result.

"We will overrun Sambisa in partnership with members of the civilian JTF if given the opportunity," he added.

Mai-Durma told reporters that this will help to complement the effort of military in the anti-terrorism operation.

He lamented that hunters from the 27 local government areas of the state had been rendered idle by the Boko Haram terrorism.

"Rather than idling away, we will want to assist the military in crushing Boko Haram terrorists," the chief hunter added.

This would be another attempt by members of the local hunters in Borno State to storm Sambisa forest to fight the Boko Haram, relying only on their local guns, sticks, machetes, charms and amulets.

In May 2014, more than 500 members of the local vigilante and hunters had converged in Maiduguri for weeks waiting to be given a go-ahead to go and rescue the Chibok school girls from the Boko Haram terrorists in Sambisa.

Boko Haram has since 2009 waged a campaign of violence in Nigeria in an effort to establish an Islamic state, affecting surrounding countries including Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Violence by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria has been forcing people out from their homes and across borders, creating a regional food and nutrition crisis. Endit