'Yan Banga Fararen Hula su Ne Kan Gaba a Yaki da Boko Haram, Babi na 1

After a three-week training course, 22-year-old Bashir mans a check-point, searching cars for weapons one-by-one in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Dec. 1, 2013. (Heather Murdock for VOA)

Civilians have been defending their homes from insurgents in Nigeria for years, but more recently they have become known as the "Civilian JTF," Maiduguri, Dec. 1, 2013. (Heather Murdock for VOA)

Kaka Shehu Lawan, Borno State Justice Commissioner, Maiduguri, Nigeria, December 2013

A Civilian JTF check-point in Maiduguri, Nigeria, December 2013. (Heather Murdock for VOA)

A car is searched at a Civilian JTF check-point in Maiduguri, Nigeria, December 2013. (Heather Murdock for VOA)

A Civilian JTF check-point in Maiduguri, Nigeria, December 2013. (Heather Murdock for VOA)

A Civilian JTF check-point in Maiduguri, Nigeria, December 2013. (Heather Murdock for VOA)

Bashir, a member of the Civilian JTF on watch, Maiduguri, Nigeria, December 2013