At every mention of the Sambisa Forest being the hideout of Nigeria's Boko Haram, one can be forgiven for asking what then stops the military from simply smoking the insurgents out of their lair and end their five-year reign of terror. But it's not that easy. Covering an area approximately 60,000 square kilometers in Nigeria's northeastern region, Sambisa is three times the size of Israel. Designated a game reserve by British colonialists, it extends from the northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, Bauchi and Gombe to northwestern Kano and down to Jigawa State. Meshala Isaac, a teacher at the University of Maiduguri in Borno State, said wild animals – such as lions, leopards, elephants and hyenas – were once common in the vast forest. In Borno State, from which the Sambisa Forest extends to adjoining states, it is bordered in the east by Gwoza local government, which is home to the notorious Gwoza Hills. The hills, which rise some 1300 meters above sea level, are th...
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