Members of the dreaded Boko Haram Islamic sect yesterday threatened to execute Leah Sharibu over Federal Government’s long silence. This message was passed after the members, in a new video, shot a mother of two from behind.

The threat to kill Leah is coming 211 days after her captivity.
TheCable, an online newspaper, reports that the mother of two, Saifura Ahmed, was among three humanitarian workers abducted at Rann in Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State. The killers are said to be the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of Boko Haram. Ahmed was abducted during a raid on a military facility in the area on March 1.

One of the female humanitarian workers, Hauwa Leman, was said to have sent an audio, begging that her parents be told that she had been abducted. After Ahmed’s execution, Leman and Alice Ngaddah, also a mother of two, are now those in captivity among the three people abducted on March 1. In a video seen by TheCable, Ahmed was wearing a white hijab and was shot from behind. The Boko Haram members insisted that they contacted government over the captives but did not get any response.

A spokesman for the group, who did not give his name, said: “We contacted the government through writing and also sent audio messages but the government has ignored us. So, here is a message of blood.

"The other nurse and midwife will be executed in similar manner in one month, including Leah Sharibu.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed the identity of the victim, promising to issue a statement.

•Text (excluding headline) excerpted from a New Telegraph report