Vigilantes fighting Boko Haram

An estimated 26,000 young men have volunteered to fight against Islamist militant Boko Haram who have wrought carnage in the north-east region of Nigeria.

The group, which is now called the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF), unofficially work alongside and liaise with the military to rein-in the insurgency, now in its eighth year.

While many Nigerians view the vigilantes as heroes in the fight against Boko Haram, they have been accused of human rights abuses from rape to extortion – and extra-judicial killings of suspected militants.

The authorities now fear that the battle-hardened vigilantes could turn into a militia that they would not be able to control.