• FG arraigns 7 suspects over murder of 12 foreigners as soldiers raid terrorists’ camps in Borno, rescue 455 hostages
From Molly Kilete. Abuja
Boko Haram has released a new video showing the execution of three men the group accused of spying for the Nigerian military.
The video, which was made public on Tuesday morning, showed the militants beheading one man and shooting two others to death with AK-47 rifles.
Speaking in Hausa, the terrorists briefly interviewed their victims before their execution.
The men were asked to identify themselves and those who sent them, and they claimed they were sent to infiltrate the sect by people close to the military.
Subsequently, the video cut into where the three were taken to a nearby bush and brutally executed.
It was not clear when and where the video was shot, but it included military jets flying over, some foreign mercenaries at war and an Islamic song playing in the background.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has arraigned seven Boko Haram suspects, for the killing of five foreigners who were abducted from a construction site in Kebbi State, in 2011.
The suspects were also accused of culpability in the murder of seven other foreigners in Borno State, who were abducted from another construction site in Bauchi State, in February 2013, and taken to the Sambisa.
The suspected militants include Mohammed Usman (known as Khalid Al-Barnawi), Mohammed Bashir Saleh, Umar Mohammed Bello (known as Abu Azzan), Mohammed Salisu (known as Datti), Yakubu Nuhu (known as Bello Maishayi), Usman Abubakar and a lady whose name was not included in the charge.
They face an 11-count charge for the abduction and murder of the victims.
According to the charge, the deceased, namely, Christopher Mcmamus (Briton), Franco Lamoliara (Italian), Francis Colomp (French) and Edgar Fridz Rampach (German) were killed by their abductors after they were kidnapped from Birnin Kebbi.
They were abducted on May 12, 2011 and detained at the Mabera area of Sokoto State, until March, 8, 2012 when they were allegedly killed by their abductors.
The charge said the seven other victims namely: “Carlos Bou Azziz, Brendan Vaughan, Silvano Trevisan, Konstantinos Karras, Ghaida Yaser Sa’ad (F), Julio Ibrahim El-Khouli and Imad El-Andari, were abducted on February 18, 2013 and taken to Sambisa where they were kept for 10 days before being murdered. The Nigerian Army has said soldiers on counter-insurgency operations in the North East have rescued 455 hostages from Boko Haram terrorists.
The soldiers were said to be on clearance operation at Bok, Misherde, Mika and Kutila all in Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State, where they liberated the hostages who have since been moved to Rann Internally Displaced Persons camp.
Director of Army/Public Relations, Brigadier-General Sani Usman, who made this known in a statement, said the soldiers, who came under heavy fire from the terrorists, responded swiftly by forcing the terrorists to flee and abandon their newly-constructed Logtics Base at a Shirawa village and two freshly-prepared suicide bombing vests and and grinding machine.
Usman, in the statement, said the soldier, who have been carrying out major offensive on suspected hideouts of terrorists at Artano, Saduguma, Duve, Bordo, Kala, Bok, Magan, Misherde, Ahisari, Gilgil, Mika, Hiwa, Kutila and Shirawa settlements in Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State.
The troops recovered one gun-truck, police Canter vehicle and one pick-up from the terrorists.
Usman added that many of the terrorists escaped with gunshot wounds.