Boko Haram executes captured Nigerian soldier, police officer

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has released a gruesome video showing the execution of a Nigerian soldier, and a police officer.

In the short video, the soldier identified himself as Lance Corporal Emmanuel Oscar, while the police officer identified himself as Yohanah Kilus.

The two claimed they were abducted while travelling from Maiduguri, Borno State capital, to Monguno.

The two security operatives were then blindfolded and summarily executed by two masked gunmen in military gear.

ISWAP is a breakaway faction of Boko Haram, an Islamic sect that has terrorised the northeast region since 2009.

The group's operations have grown increasingly brutal since it broke away from the main Abubakar Shekau-led faction in 2016.

The terrorist insurgency has led to the death of over 30,000 people, and displacement of over 2.5 million in the northeast and surrounding border countries.

In his Democracy Day speech on Friday, June 12, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari praised the Armed Forces for considerably downgrading the insurgency.

The president has long claimed that the terrorist group has been technically defeated, sometimes even after devastating attacks in the northeast where the sect has largely operated.

Even though the group has lost its hold on most of the territories it commanded shortly before Buhari became president in 2015, fighters still enjoy the occasional reign of terror, leading to deaths, abductions and displacements of locals.

In the latest high-profile incident that ignited public fury, Boko Haram attacked two communities in Gubio local government area of Borno, killing at least 81 people on Tuesday, June 9.

The attack happened a day after the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, assured President Buhari that the military has been crushing the terrorists.

Buratai (left) held a private meeting with Buhari (centre) and the president's Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Agboola Gambari (right), on Monday, June 8, 2020 to assure the president that the Army has security well under control [Presidency] Pulse Nigeria

After a meeting with Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Buratai announced that 1,429 terrorists were killed while 166 collaborators were arrested during his two months stay with troops at the frontlines.

Nigeria one of the least peaceful countries in Africa

Nigeria recently ranked the fifth least peaceful country in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the 2020 edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI).

The report said the unending terrorist insurgency of Boko Haram in the northeast region was partly responsible for Nigeria's terrible ranking.

The report said conflict between government forces and the terrorist group led to the death of an estimated 640 civilians in 2019.

"Over the last year, the country has recorded further deteriorations in Militarisation and Ongoing Conflict and an overall deterioration in peacefulness of 0.8 per cent," the report noted.

Buhari assured in his Friday speech that security agencies will continue to do their best to ensure peace in every corner of the country.