After her husband was killed by a Boko Haram suicide bomber late last year, Hajjagana Mbasaru was forced to pull her children from school and rely on friends to feed them. During its seven-year uprising, Boko Haram extremists have killed more than 20,000 people and displaced more than 2.6 million in Nigeria and neighboring Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Often armed with only machetes, iron bars and batons, the men worked to round up suspected Boko Haram fighters and intercept suicide bombers. That was the case for Hauwa Li's husband, a businessman who died fighting Boko Haram last year. "He joined the militia because, at the time, Boko Haram were just killing everyone," Li said.

Source: ABC News October 23, 2016 11:59 UTC