In a harrowing display of brutality, fighters from a Boko Haram faction loyal to Ali Ngulde have beheaded two women in the Mandara Mountain area of Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State. The victims were accused of engaging in shirk, an Islamic term denoting the sin of associating partners with Allah or practicing idolatry.
According to sources familiar with insurgent activities in the region who spoke to counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama, the women were intercepted during a routine search by the terrorists around their mountain settlements. The insurgents reportedly found charms (locally called layu) in the possession of the women, which they deemed evidence of forbidden practices linked to shirk.
The women were subjected to a makeshift “trial” conducted by the faction’s militants, who summarily declared them guilty. Makama detailed that the militants took the women to a secluded part of the mountains where the execution was carried out publicly in front of both fighters and civilians living under their control, intending to instill fear and enforce strict obedience to the group’s hardline doctrines.In a video obtained by Makama, the accused were explicitly charged with practicing shirk following the discovery of the charms. “The terrorists took them to a secluded part of the mountains and executed them after the so-called trial,” the source revealed. This public execution reflects the faction’s recent intensification of brutal punitive measures against those accused of sorcery, spying, or attempting to defect from their ranks.
The execution not only underscores Boko Haram’s continued reign of terror in the area but also highlights their use of extreme religious interpretations to justify acts of violence. The factions’ punitive actions serve as a stark warning to individuals living within their domain. The faction loyal to Ali Ngulde has been known to enforce strict and severe punishments to consolidate control and suppress dissent or perceived disobedience among the population.
