ISWAP executed one of six aid workers abducted in July 2019. The victim was a male staff member of Action Against Hunger (ACF). The group released a video showing the execution, with the victim shot at close range. ISWAP stated the execution was carried out because "the government deceived them" following months of secret negotiations
25 Sept 2019 · Borno
Deaths
1
Injured
0
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
1
Perpetrators
ISWAP
Response
The Paris-based charity condemned the assassination "in the strongest terms" and urgently called for the release of the remaining hostages. The organization stated it was "extremely concerned and is fully mobilised to ensure that the remaining hostages can be quickly and safely reunited with their families"
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
ISWAP’s use of high-profile executions to pressure the Nigerian government and demonstrate control. Retaliation for alleged government deception during secret negotiations.
Trajectory
By 2019, ISWAP had shifted toward more calculated, propaganda-driven executions of hostages (especially aid workers and foreigners) to gain leverage and international attention, distinguishing itself from Shekau’s faction.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier attacks including 18 July 2019 – abduction of Action Against Hunger aid workers near Damasak, 01 March 2018 – kidnapping of humanitarian staff along the Maiduguri–Dikwa axis, 13 March 2018 – Rann aid worker abductions, 2014–2015 – Boko Haram kidnappings of foreign nationals for leverage, and collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Islamic State West Africa Province employs staged hostage executions as a coercive strategy—using captured aid workers as bargaining assets, then carrying out highly publicized killings to pressure governments, retaliate over failed negotiations, and amplify propaganda value while reinforcing its strategic divergence from Boko Haram.
Pattern
Hostage Killing
Related — Targeted Killing
Boko Haram released a seven-minute propaganda video—the first of its kind in two years—showing the execution of three men whom the group accused of being spies for Nigeria's Directorate of Military Intelligence. The video was published by the faction led by Abubakar Shekau. In the footage, three men dressed in orange jumpsuits kneel on the ground as masked militants criticize President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian military's campaign against them. One man is beheaded, while the other two are shot. A militant addresses Buhari directly, stating, “These are your boys you sent.” Additionally, the group showcased high-grade military weapons, including what appeared to be anti-aircraft missiles, claiming that they still hold territory that the Nigerian army cannot recapture.
Two motorcycle-riding gunmen shot and killed Sheikh Bashir Kashara, a prominent Wahhabi cleric, at his home in Maiduguri. One of his students was also killed in the attack. Kashara, who was well-known for his weekly Islamic programme on Borno State-run radio, was a vocal critic of Boko Haram's ideologies, particularly the group's stance that Western education is a sin. The police officer who confirmed the attack noted that while investigations had commenced, the "modus operandi" of the attack pointed most strongly to Boko Haram as the perpetrator.
In a targeted assassination, gunmen operating on a motorcycle ambushed and shot dead a prominent local resident in Kano. The victim, 60-year-old Alhaji Muhammadu, was a well‑known critic of Boko Haram in his community. The assailants struck as he was leaving a mosque after evening prayers in the Hoton Fulani area of Kano, ensuring the killing served as a public warning to others who might speak out against the group.