Global News - Redeem the Oppressed

Five aid workers killed by extremist groups in northeast Nigeria

In recent years alone, hundreds of innocent Nigerians have been killed and thousands displaced, and the Nigerian government has failed miserably to protect its citizens.

According to the Reuters, militants in northeast Nigeria have murdered four aid workers and a security guard after abducting them while they worked for the International Rescue Committee and Action Against Hunger. In a video released by the militants last month, those who died were first shown alive and then shot dead on camera.

The killing of the aid workers comes as human rights organizations and a British parliamentary group continue to raise the alarm about escalating violence committed by Nigerian Islamic extremists against civilians, and Christians in particular. Earlier this month it was reported that over 8,370 Christian Nigerians have been murdered by Boko Haram.

Reuters reports that aid workers are increasingly at risk in northeast Nigeria, where Boko Haram operates. In the video released by the terrorists, the hostages are shown wearing red blindfolds and kneeling in a row. A militant then says to them: “You that are working for infidel organizations, you are working to deliver their mandate but they do not care about your plight. This is why whenever we abduct you, those organizations do not show any form of concern.”

After saying this, the terrorist and four others wearing balaclavas shot and killed the hostages.

Reporting on the alarming rate of killings in Nigeria, Forbes wrote last month: “The international community cannot be blind to the reports of atrocities and must ask important questions. How will the Nigerian Government explain the mass killings in Nigeria as recorded by several international organizations? What is the Nigerian Government doing to ensure that the acts are investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted?” These questions remain to be answered.

By Farrukh Saif

Farrukh Saif is a Pakistani human rights activist based in Germany. He founded his own organization, the Farrukh Saif Foundation (FSF), in 2009 with the goal of supporting marginalized and oppressed minorities in Pakistan who are affected by religious discrimination, blasphemy laws, forced conversions, abductions, rape, and bonded slavery. The main focus of the FSF is on the liberation of bonded laborers, particularly those working in brick kilns in rural areas of Pakistan. In 2018, the FSF merged with the US-based Emergency Committee to Save the Persecuted and Enslaved. Throughout his career, Farrukh has been a leading voice for the rights of minorities in Pakistan and has gained international attention for his campaigns against the misuse of blasphemy laws and the belief that asylum is not a crime. In 2014, he played a key role in the release of hundreds of asylum seekers from Thai jails and has worked with his legal team to save numerous victims of strict blasphemy laws in Pakistan. Farrukh has also been invited by the Hungarian government to discuss his work and the issues he addresses. In addition to his work with the FSF, Farrukh has also been involved in various other humanitarian efforts, including providing health care services to internally displaced persons in Khayber Pakhtoon Khawa in 2009 and assisting flood victims in Sindh and Punjab in 2010. He has worked to aid victimized minorities in Pakistan and has a strong track record of successfully advocating for their rights. Farrukh joined forces with Keith Davies in 2018 to co-found the Emergency Committee to Save The Persecuted and Enslaved, and since 2009, they have collectively successfully rescued more than 36000 individuals from slavery and persecution.