The Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) has executed four male humanitarian workers of Action Against Hunger abducted since July, 2019.
Six staffs of the Paris-based humanitarian organization were abducted on July 19 by ISWAP Islamists.
Independent journalist, Ahmad Salkida, believed to have a deep inside knowledge about the group, in a series of tweets confirmed the execution Friday afternoon.
Exclusive: ISWAP executes four more, releases video. All four are male humanitarian workers of Action Against Hunger abducted since July, 2019. The only female amongst them, Grace Taku, according to ISWAP, is condemned to life of slavery. pic.twitter.com/DxqM7uAOSm
— Ahmad Salkida (@A_Salkida) December 13, 2019
He also said the only female amongst them, Grace Taku, has been condemned to life of slavery.
Salkida said, “ISWAP executes four more, releases video. All four are male humanitarian workers of Action Against Hunger abducted since July, 2019. The only female amongst them, Grace Taku, according to ISWAP, is condemned to life of slavery.”
Quoting an inside source, the journalist said the execution of the aide workers followed breakdown of talks with the Federal Government.
“ISWAP claims the execution was as a result of breakdown of talks with the government,” he said.
“The government is not sincere and do not respect timelines,” reports an ISWAP source. Taku’s fate is now the same with other Christian female captives with the terror group.”
ISWAP militants on July 19 killed a driver and abducted six others, working for an international aid organisation, Action Against Hunger, in a convoy to Damasak in Borno State.
The Country Director of Action Against Hunger, Shashwat Saraf, had on the on July 25 in a statement said one staff of the humanitarian organisation was killed by the attackers, while six others are missing.
This is coming 10 months after Saifura Ahmed, a UNICEF employee who was kidnapped alongside Hauwa Liman, was executed by Boko Haram in September, and Hauwa herself was killed on October 2018.
The Federal Government had been successful in negotiating the release of some Boko Haram hostages, including some of the Chibok schoolgirls, the University of Maiduguri lecturers, some policewomen abducted on their way to a colleague’s funeral, and abducted Dapchi schoolgirls.
But somehow, the government appeared helpless in the cases of Saifura Ahmed and Hauwa Liman.
In the video depicting her execution published by The Cable, Liman’s hands were tied and she was dressed in a white hijab with a crescent symbol on it. Liman was forced to kneel before being shot at close range.
The terrorist group in a statement explaining the execution, said both Liman and Ahmed were considered apostate as they were deemed to have abandoned their faith by working for the Red Cross: “for us there is no difference between the Red Cross and UNICEF. If we see them, we kill the apostate among them, men or women, and choose to kill or keep the infidels as slaves, men or women.”
Two other humanitarian workers still remain with the Boko Haram namely Alice Ngaddah, who was abducted in Rann alongside Hauwa, and Leah Sharibu, the Dapchi schoolgirl that was not released alongside her colleagues because she refused to convert to Islam.
The Nigerian Army on the 19th of September sealed the office of Action Against Hunger accusing of it subversiveness and assisting terrorists.
Olayinka works with The ICIR as the Social Media Manager, Reporter and Fact-checker. You can shoot him an email via [email protected]. You can as well follow him on Twitter via @BelloYinka72