Boko Haram have slit the throats of four Nigerian villagers in revenge for the arrest of a senior member of the jihadist group, AFP reports.
Ten gunmen on motorbikes stormed the northeastern Cameroonian border village of Hambagda near Gwoza, once the capital of Boko Haram’s self-announced “caliphate”, on Thursday before kidnapping six people and killing four others.
“They asked people to assemble but everyone started running towards the bush,” said local resident Usman Buba.
“They seized six people in the confusion and slaughtered four while two managed to escape.”
The attack came a day after soldiers arrested Boko Haram commander Adamu Rugurugu during a village raid.
Buba said the jihadists who attacked Hambagda on Thursday afternoon decided to slit their victims’ throats instead of shooting them to avoid attracting the attention of troops stationed in Gwoza, two kilometres (1.2 miles) away.
“The attack was evidently in reprisal for the arrest of a Boko Haram kingpin who has been terrorising the village,” Buba said.
Another resident, Dahiru Alkali, confirmed his account, adding that villagers had complained to soldiers of incessant attacks by Rugurugu and his men.