The abduction and execution of ICRC nurse Hauwa Mohammed Liman by ISWAP highlighted the dangers faced by humanitarian workers in northeast Nigeria.
Key Facts
- Victim
- Hauwa Mohammed Liman
- Age at abduction
- 24 years
- Employer
- International Committee of the Red Cross
- Abducted
- March 2018
- Executed
- October 15, 2018
- Perpetrator group
- Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
ISWAP, a splinter faction of Boko Haram operating in northeast Nigeria, targeted humanitarian workers operating in the region. Hauwa Mohammed Liman, a nurse working with the ICRC, was abducted in March 2018, reflecting the group's pattern of attacking aid workers to gain leverage and spread fear.
Liman was held captive by ISWAP for several months following her abduction in March 2018. Despite international attention and appeals from Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who condemned ISWAP's actions, she was executed on October 15, 2018, making her one of several humanitarian workers killed by the group.
Her execution provoked widespread condemnation from Nigeria and the international humanitarian community. President Buhari pledged to hold those responsible accountable. The killing intensified concerns about the safety of aid workers in the Lake Chad Basin and underscored the ongoing threat posed by ISWAP to civilian and humanitarian personnel.