Boko Haram terrorists behead 4 people in Nigeria

The terrorist group Boko Haram last week beheaded four people in the city of Ngoshe, in northeastern Nigeria, including a member of the Red Cross. According to information, the deaths were recorded and released in a six-minute video shared by the terrorists.

According to the organization Open Doors, which documents cases of persecution against Christians, it is believed that the dead were hostages captured during an attack by the terrorist group on the city of Gwoza on October 1. In addition to the four, 11 other people were also kidnapped.

In the video, two terrorists appear justifying the murders as retaliation for the deaths of Boko Haram members the previous week.

“They killed our elders, they killed our children, there is nothing wrong that they have not done to us. But today, look how Allah has helped us, we have put our lives and resources at risk to ensure that we practice our religion. We have been confronted We killed some and captured them, including women and elderly people,” they said.

According to Open Doors, one of the terrorists also beheaded his younger sister on the grounds that she was an “infidel”.

“Even if it is my mother who goes against our religion, by the special grace of Allah, we will annihilate her. In fact, even if it is one of my children who goes against this religion, I will do justice,” he said.

Christians in the crosshairs of terrorism

According to an Open Doors report called “No Road Home,” the mass displacement of Christians in Nigeria has been a combination of attacks on communities and the failure of the local government to protect them. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that there were 1,711,481 internally displaced people in Borno State alone in northeastern Nigeria as of December 2023. About 74% of these people were forced to flee their homes and communities before 2021 and 68% of them have already moved twice or more.

Open Doors Sub-Saharan Africa legal expert John Samuel explained that the Borno state government put pressure on, donated food packages and money for people to return to their communities. However, Christians refused to return fearing insecurity and violence from terrorists. Some who returned were attacked and had to flee again.

“Boko Haram extremists have clearly said, repeatedly, that they are waging jihad (holy war) against people they call ‘infidels’ – that is, anyone who does not agree with their extreme interpretation of Islam. Some of the people at the top of this list are Christians who are clear targets because of their faith,” he said.