--- title: "This Nigerian woman stopped hunting antelope to shoot terrorists" description: "For the terrorist group whose name translates to \"Western Education is Forbidden,\" Gombi's name means getting schooled on the battlefield." date: "2021-03-19" modified: "2021-03-19" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-culture/gombi-shoots-terrorists/" categories: - "Military News" tags: - "Africa" - "Terrorism" --- # This Nigerian woman stopped hunting antelope to shoot terrorists ![]() For the terrorist group whose name translates to "Western Education is Forbidden," Aisha Bakari Gombi's name means getting schooled on the battlegrounds of sub-Saharan Africa. --- "Boko Haram know me and fear me," says Gombi. Gombi's title is now "Queen Hunter" for her prowess in fighting terrorist cells in the country. According to the Guardian's Rosie Collyer, she commands men who communicate using sign language, animal sounds, and birdsong. ![]() *Boko Haram, the junior varsity ISIS, still somehow manages to ill innocent civilians and wreak havoc across Nigeria.* Her home as a youth is a town called Gombi, near Nigeria's Sambisa Forest, which is now rife with Boko Haram extremists. This is a short drive from where [200 girls were kidnapped]() in 2014. Gombi has been a member of the local hunter's club since she was in her youth, taught to hunt by her grandfather. "We could free them if the military would give us better weapons," [she told the Guardian]() as she eyed a double-barreled shotgun on her lap. In the same forest where she once hunted antelope for food, she now hunts Boko Haram fighters for vengeance. Many other women in the village have since joined the hunt for terrorist fighters, many to avenge missing loved ones abducted by the group. ![ Aisha Bakari Gombi. (Photo by Rosie Collyer)]() *Aisha Bakari Gombi. (Photo by Rosie Collyer)* Many other women in the village have since joined the hunt for terrorist fighters, many to avenge missing loved ones abducted by the group. There are now 228 hunters in Gombi's village who have been recruited by the government to help fight terrorists. Aisha Bakari Gombi vows never to stop fighting Boko Haram until her village is free from their threat. The only thing holding her back is the resources required to go on the offensive. "I'm waiting for a call authorizing me to go back to rescue those women and children from Daggu, but I don't know if they will give us more arms," she says. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()