Boko Haram kills 25-year-old Nigerian midwife, Saifura Khorosa, kidnapped in Rann

A Nigerian midwife, Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khrosa, who was abducted alongside two of her colleagues in Rann, Borno state in March this year, has been kiled.

A statement from the International Committee of Red Cross where Saifura worked, confirmed her death. The statement in part reads

”The International Committee of the Red Cross condemns in the strongest terms the tragic killing of its abducted colleague Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khrosa. It is appealing to the armed group to immediately release a second ICRC midwife and another health-care worker taken in north-eastern Nigeria in March.

“We are devastated by the murder of our colleague Saifura,” said Eloi Fillion, the head of the ICRC delegation in Abuja. “Saifura moved to Rann to selflessly help those in need. Our thoughts are with her family and other loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”

At the time of their abduction, Saifura, as well as our colleague Hauwa Mohammed Liman and Alice Loksha, a nurse working in a UNICEF-supported centre, were providing essential antenatal care to communities in Rann, whose population has more than doubled after an influx of people fleeing violence.

“We urge those still holding our colleague Hauwa and Alice: release these women. Like Saifura, they are not part of the fight. They are a midwife and a nurse. They are daughters, a wife, and a mother – women with families that depend on them,” said Fillion. “Their families and friends miss them dearly and will not give up the hope of seeing them again soon. There is no ideology or religious law that could justify doing any harm to them.”

Saifura, 25, was a devoted mother and midwife. Those who knew her said she adored her two children, a two-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl. The children have not been able to comprehend their mother’s absence, as they frequently asked their grandmother if a passing plane was bringing their mother home. That grandmother must now find the words to tell two children their mother will never return.

In August, the three abducted health workers in a video released by Boko Haram, appealed to President Buhari to do everything within his power to ensure their safe release.