TheCable

The federal government has condemned the execution of Hauwa Leman, an aid worker with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), by The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of Boko Haram.

Lai Mohammed, minister of information, said the government did “everything any responsible government should do” to save Leman and Saifura Ahmed, another aid worker that had been killed in similar circumstances.

TheCable had reported how Leman was killed on Monday. According to a video seen by TheCable, she was forced to kneel down, with her hands tied inside a white hijab which has a crest symbol, and then shot at close range.

Reacting via a statement, Mohammed said the government is deeply pained by the incident.

He also said the government kept negotiations open, trying to rescue the women, and had acted in the best interest of the women and the country.

“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,” the statement read.

“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 insurgents had threatened, on Sunday, to kill Leman by Monday.

Toafic Toure, ICRC operational communication delegate, Maiduguri sub-delegation, subsequently pleaded with the federal government to avert Leman’s killing as the Monday deadline approached.

The insurgents also threatened to enslave Leah Sharibu, the only Christian among the 110 girls abducted at the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state, on February 19, 2018.