Fighters from the Boko Haram faction loyal to Ali Ngulde reportedly beheaded two women in the Mandara Mountain area of Gwoza Local Government, Borno State, after accusing them of practicing idolatry.
The executions were carried out in full view of other fighters and local residents, a tactic reportedly used by the group to enforce obedience through fear.
Sources familiar with insurgent activities in the region said the women were intercepted during a routine search of the terrorists’ mountain settlements.
Security analyst Zagazola Makama, who obtained footage of the incident, stated that the insurgents claimed the women were found with charms, which they immediately interpreted as evidence of “forbidden practices.”
He explained that the women were brought before the faction’s makeshift “trial” system, where fighters pronounced them guilty of practicing shirk after allegedly discovering the charms in their possession.
“There was no real hearing,” a source told Makama. “They simply declared the charms proof of shirk and marched the women to a remote part of the mountains.”
“They stage these acts publicly to send a message, disobedience will not be tolerated, and fear is the currency they trade in,” Makama added,
Reports from the area indicate that the Ali Ngulde faction has, in recent months, intensified punishments against individuals accused of sorcery, espionage, or attempts to defect. Several residents say the group has grown increasingly paranoid, resorting to harsher reprisals amid rising internal tensions.
