Five aid workers abducted last month in Borno State have been killed by suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.
This is according to a viral video on social media on Thursday.
According to reports, the victims were staff of Action Against Hunger, the International Rescue Committee, Rich International and the National Emergency Management Agency.
Boko Haram’s decade-long insurgency has left thousands dead, displaced many more and resulted in a humanitarian crisis in north-eastern Nigeria.
Aid workers have frequently been targeted, especially by a Boko Haram splinter group affiliated to the so-called Islamic State group.
In a video released last month the hostages did not name either Islamic State or Boko Haram but referred to their captors as soldiers of the “khalifa”.
Previously, captives have used the term to refer to Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap), rather than Boko Haram.
In the recent 35-second video of the executions, five hooded armed men stand with the blindfolded hostages.
An unidentified voice delivers a speech to “the infidels” telling them to “repeat and turn to God” before one of the gunmen orders the others to shoot their captives.
Action Against Hunger said it deeply regretted that its calls for their release had not been answered.
International Rescue Committee condemned the killings as “senseless” and “barbaric”.
Paying tribute to its staff member Luka Filibus who, it said, had been “forced to flee his home and was still compelled to alleviate the suffering of children”, they demanded the return of his body.
UN humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria Edward Kallon said “it is unacceptable that those who are trying to help are being attacked and killed”.
“This incident will not deter the international community from providing aid to millions of Nigerians who desperately need assistance in the north-east,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, in reaction, President Muhammadu Buhari sympathized with the families of the five aid workers, praying that God will comfort them for their irreplaceable loss.
He also assured that the perpetrators of the atrocity will be made to face the law
The president, however, assured Nigerians that his government will continue to do all it can to ensure that every remaining vestige of Boko Haram is wiped out completely from Northeastern Nigeria.
