Buhari Condemns Beheading of 11 Christian Hostages by ISWAP … Describes Terrorists as ‘Callous Gangs of Mass Murderers’

Pat Stevens/

President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the execution of 11 Christian hostages on Christmas day by the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP), a faction of Boko Haram loyal to the Islamic State (IS).

The group released a video yesterday which detailed the execution of the 11 hostages, claiming it was in retaliation for the killing of IS leaders in Iraq and Syria.

The group said in the video that the executed hostages were recently abducted from Borno State.

Buhari in a statement he shared on his verified Twitter handle, @MBuhari, this evening said he was saddened and shocked by the development, while describing the terrorists as “remorseless, godless, callous gangs of mass murderers”.

He appealed to Nigerians not allow the “terrorists divide us by turning Christians against Muslims, because these barbaric killers do not represent Islam”.

The statement reads:

“I am profoundly saddened and shocked by the death of innocent hostages in the hands of remorseless, godless, callous gangs of mass murderers that have given Islam a bad name through their atrocities.

“We should under no circumstances let the terrorists divide us by turning Christians against Muslims, because these barbaric killers do not represent Islam and millions of other law-abiding Muslims around the world.

“As a President, the collective security of all Nigerians is my major preoccupation and the death of an innocent Christian or Muslim distresses me.

“No true Muslim would be shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ while killing innocent people, an evil frequently condemned by the Holy Qur’an.

“These agents of darkness are enemies of our common humanity and they don’t spare any victim, whether they are Muslims or Christians, and therefore, we shouldn’t let them divide us and turn us against one another.

“The goal of these psychopaths is to cause confusion and spread distrust between Muslims and Christians, despite the fact that they aren’t representing the interest of Muslims or Islam.

“While I condemn this evil, I wish to reassure Nigerians that this administration will not lower its guard in the war against terrorism.

“We will continue to intensify our efforts towards strengthening international cooperation and collaboration to break the backbone of these evil doers.

“I call on all Nigerians to stand united against terrorism and to avoid unhelpful conspiracy theories that serve the interest of Boko Haram terrorists and ISWAP.”

The latest execution by the terrorists group came less than two weeks after it released the video of the execution of four persons working with Action Against Hunger.

The victims were seen in the video pleading with President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to help negotiate their release.

While one captive was shot dead, the other 10 were pushed to the ground and beheaded.

The 56-second footage, which was filmed in an unidentified outdoor area, was produced by the Islamic State’s (IS) “news agency” Amaq.

Analysts told BBC that the release of the video was clearly timed to coincide with Christmas celebrations.

Explaining the reasons for the execution, the group said, “We killed them as revenge for the killings of our leaders including Abubakar al-Baghdadi and Abul-Hasan Al-Muhajir in Iraq and Syria.”

Salkida.com also reported that the decision to execute the captives was rather swift, abrupt and shocking, adding that ISWAP had reportedly opened a window of negotiation ostensibly to exchange the freedom of the captives with those of its members in government custody but the Nigerian Government failed to take the offer.

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