In a chilling resurgence of violence, suspected members of Boko Haram have released a graphic video depicting the brutal beheading of four people recently abducted in the Gwoza area of Borno State, North East Nigeria. 

The nearly six-minute-long footage showed the armed terrorists in a remote mountainous location, parading their captives—two men and five women—who were bound and defenceless. 

The captives were those reported to have been taken last week after the terror group attacked and killed at least five people in Ngoshe, Gwoza. The terrorists ambushed farmers while they worked and abducted about 15 of them, including children and the elderly.

The video features two members of the group, who, speaking in Hausa, justified their heinous act by claiming the victims were part of a group supporting those responsible for attacking and killing their members the previous week. 

“This is in response to the relentless onslaught and killings of our people by the Nigerian military,” one of them stated, highlighting a grim cycle of violence. He also identified the two slain men as Red Cross workers, a claim HumAngle has not independently verified. 

Among the victims was a young woman in her mid-20s, identified by one of the executioners as the daughter of his elder brother, “Yaya Dikko.” In a shocking display of cold-heartedness, he said, “We do not share the same faith with her,” before participating in her execution.

Despite the horror of the killings, the terrorists spared three elderly women, promising to return them to their village to demonstrate that they do not target those with grey hair. 

The video concludes with the group vowing to intensify their attacks under the leadership of a new figure, “Sheikh Abu Sumaiyya.” They referenced their past notoriety, stating, “We will rekindle the hostilities known during the early days of the senseless insurgency.” 

The Gwoza attack may foreshadow the challenges farmers will face as they enter the harvest season. Similar attacks have previously hindered their ability to reap the rewards of their labour, exacerbating food scarcity in the region.