ISWAP executed the four remaining male aid workers who had been abducted in July 2019. The group released a video showing the executions and claimed the action was taken because "the government is not sincere and do not respect timelines" following a breakdown in talks . The group announced that Grace Taku, the only female among the six abducted workers, was "condemned to life of slavery"
13 Dec 2019 · Borno
Deaths
4
Injured
0
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
4
Perpetrators
ISWAP
Response
UN Humanitarian Coordinator Edward Kallon expressed profound sadness and outrage, stating: "My thoughts are with their families, friends, and colleagues who are enduring unimaginable pain and hardship." He called for the immediate release of Grace Taku.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
To penalize the state for its perceived insincerity in prisoner-exchange or ransom negotiations, using high-definition execution videos to showcase "State-like" control over life and death.
Trajectory
In late 2019, ISWAP increasingly used high-profile hostage executions to pressure the government, while employing female captives for propaganda and as bargaining tools, posing a "life of slavery." This represented a more calculated and media-savvy approach compared to earlier phases.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier attacks including 18 July 2019 – abduction of Action Against Hunger aid workers near Damasak, 25 September 2019 – execution of an ACF aid worker after prolonged captivity, 13 March 2018 – Rann humanitarian kidnappings during convoy movements, 01 March 2018 – abduction of aid personnel along the Maiduguri–Dikwa axis, and earlier 2014–2015 hostage-taking operations targeting foreign and humanitarian actors for leverage, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Islamic State West Africa Province employs prolonged hostage detention followed by staged executions to exert coercive pressure on state actors, punish perceived negotiation failures, and generate propaganda value, while simultaneously using remaining captives as long-term bargaining assets in asymmetric negotiation strategies distinct from the earlier practices of Boko Haram.
Pattern
Hostage Killing
Related — Targeted Killing
A large group of about 20 Boko Haram insurgents attacked a police station in the Lamisula and Abaganaram areas of Maiduguri late on Saturday, 24 March 2012, using rifles, explosives and rocket launchers. After a fierce gunbattle that lasted into the early hours of Sunday, troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF) repelled the attack. The surviving sect members retreated through narrow paths, reorganised, and shot dead a retired police inspector and two of his friends right in front of his house. A nearby security patrol responded almost instantly to the gunfire. In the ensuing gun battle, security forces successfully neutralised three of the attackers. The confrontation forced about 200 residents to lie face down on the streets to avoid crossfire, and many slept outside as a curfew was imposed.
In a precision targeted killing, two Boko Haram gunmen on a motorcycle executed Sheikh Ali Jana'a, a prominent Muslim cleric, outside his residence in the Bulabulin Ngarnam ward of Maiduguri. The attack occurred at about 7:15 pm. Witnesses reported that the assailants shot the cleric several times, leaving him in a pool of blood. Jana'a was an outspoken critic of the group's radical ideology and was widely known within the community to have cooperated with the Joint Task Force (JTF) by providing actionable intelligence on insurgent hideouts and member identities. The assassination was one of several targeting religious figures and perceived state collaborators in Maiduguri during this period.
Following the abduction and brutal killing of 19 Nigerian soldiers by a Tiv militia on 10 October, the Nigerian Army launched a coordinated reprisal operation between 20 and 24 October. Soldiers from the 23rd Armoured Brigade went from village to village, rounding up unarmed Tiv civilians, separating the men from the women and children, and then executing them. The operation also involved the widespread destruction of homes, shops, and public buildings.