The Nigerian government has said that a female health worker with the Red Cross has been executed by militants.
Hauwa Mohammed Liman was abducted in March this year by the militants together with another health worker, Alice Loksha.
These female health workers were abducted while working in the town of Rann. Liman according to the Red Cross was working as a midwife at an ICRC-supported hospital, while Loksha was nurse working with UNICEF.
On Sunday the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) pleaded for their release. Red Cross did not give further details about the deadline the militants gave but said the release required some urgency.
On Monday Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described the killing of Hauwa as dastardly.
”It is very unfortunate that it has come to this. Before and after the deadline issued by her abductors, the Federal Government did everything any responsible government should do to save the aid worker.
As we have been doing since these young women were abducted, we kept the line of negotiations open all through. In all the negotiations, we acted in the best interest of the women and the country as a whole.”
”We are deeply pained by this killing, just like we were by the recent killing of the first aid worker. However, we will keep the negotiations open and continue to work to free the innocent women who remain in the custody of their abductors,” the Minister added in a statement.
The Red Cross has said that it has heard the “devastating reports” that “Hauwa has been executed. At this stage, we don’t have confirmation this is true. We desperately hope not. We will provide an update when we have accurate information. This situation is heartbreaking, and our thoughts remain with her family.”
We are hearing devastating reports Hauwa has been executed.
At this stage, we don’t have confirmation this is true. We desperately hope not. We will provide an update when we have accurate information.
This situation is heartbreaking, and our thoughts remain with her family.
— ICRC (@ICRC) October 15, 2018
It is unclear what has happened to the second health worker still held by the militants.
Boko Haram continues to wreck havoc across Nigeria killing thousands and displacing millions. It has in the past abducted many girls and women, subjecting them to various forms of abuses.
Source: Africafeeds.com
