[3][4] The Sambisa forest is located at the northeastern tip of the west Sudanian Savanna and the southern boundary of the Sahel Savannah about 60 km south east of Maiduguri, the capital of the state of Borno.

The Gwoza hills in the East have peaks of 1,300 meters above sea level and form part of the Mandara Mountains range along the Cameroon-Nigeria border.

[6] Major trees and bushes in the forest include tallow, rubber, wild black plum, birch, date palm, mesquite, acacia, monkey bread, red bushwillow, baobab, jackalberry, tamarind and terminalia.

However poaching, chopping downing trees for fuel, human agricultural penetration[7] and the Boko Haram jihadist group's activities since 2013[6] have reduced their numbers since then.

But the abandonment of its management, following the Sambisa takeover by Boko Haram insurgents in February 2013, led to the gradual disappearance of animals, lodges collapsed or were destroyed, vegetation invaded roads, and rivers dried up.

[10] The Sambisa forest, especially the mountainous region of Gwoza near the Cameroon border, is used as shelter by the jihadist Boko Haram group and is believed to be where they keep the hostages from the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping in April 2014.

[16] The Nigerian Army Wednesday night 4 November 2015, said troops of 5 Brigade Task Group, killed two Boko Haram suspects, after destroying their camps at Hausari and Baranga in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State.