In a shocking turn of events, a yet-to-be-verified video clip surfaced yesterday, purportedly showing members of the Boko Haram insurgent group executing two Red Cross staff in Ngoshe Community, Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State. The gruesome act adds to the recent wave of attacks by the terrorist group, which has also targeted farmers and abducted many people in the area, including Kirawa town, while looting unripe crops from local farmlands.
In the video, the leader of the group, speaking in Hausa, claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of Red Cross staff and several elderly women, including one of his sisters. He said: “Many of our elders and children have been molested by security agencies, but Allah (God), in his infinite mercy to our struggles, has successfully led to the arrest of some staff working with Red Cross as well as some elderly women, including one of my sisters.”
The leader, who did not disclose his identity, also boasted about the killing of security personnel and civilians he referred to as “infidels.” He added that while they intended to release the elderly women, including his sister, they executed the captured Red Cross staff to demonstrate their continued presence and to show the world that “God Almighty is on our side as true Muslims.”
The video clip, which showed the victims being brutally murdered with an axe, was met with shouts of “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) from bystanders during the incident.
Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, who represents the Gwoza area in the Senate, spoke about the video, saying: “I just watched the video too, and am trying to verify its authenticity. Notwithstanding, this has confirmed all my cries to the federal government and the whole world that the resilient people of Gwoza, especially farmers who have resettled back to their ancestral homes after decades of Boko Haram atrocities, are still undergoing various forms of renewed attacks.”
Attempts to reach Yuxia Jiang, Communication Delegate for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), for confirmation of the incident, have been unsuccessful as of press time.