Civilians with sling shots and homemade shotguns are scrambling to repel terrorists with assault rifles in Nigeria’s north, according to a leader of the group that saw action the night of July 31. “We laid in the grass firing stones with our slingshots and firing the few Dane guns [shotguns] in our possession to scare the attackers,” said a civilian watch leader, who declined to give his name. “The locally made ones [guns] fire only pellets not bullets. The shots don’t go more than 50 meters and can’t be automatic, unlike the AK47/9 [used by the terrorists] which can fire up to 3 rounds/sec and a distance of 300-400m,” wrote Gabriel Ad’Ofikwu, a retired Major in the Nigerian Army, in a text message. “They are by far inefficient to repel the attackers.” Despite their weak firepower, the vigilantes were unyielding during the invasion, blocking the terrorists  to allow women and …