U.S. Embassy, Red Cross Condemn Boko Haram Murder of Aid Worker Ahmed

The United States Embassy in Nigeria and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have condemned the execution style killing of aide worker, Saifura Ahmed.

The U.S. Embassy in a statement on Monday in Abuja described Ahmed’s killing as ‘senseless murder.’

“We utterly condemn this heinous and inhuman act and stand in solidarity with the ICRC and all those who work in service with the Nigerian people. Midwife Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa was providing care to those most vulnerable. This was a senseless murder. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, and to her colleagues, and to those still suffering in captivity,” the statement read.

Also the ICRC in its statement said it “condemns in the strongest terms the tragic killing of its abducted colleague Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa,” and appealed for the immediate 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,” the ICRC said.

It explained that 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.”