Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday condemned the killing of a Christian cleric by suspected Boko Haram militants who had kidnapped him during a raid in Adamawa state.
Lawan Andimi, the state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), was abducted in early January in Michika town and executed on Monday, according to local media reports.
The Islamist group then released a video of Andimi a few days later showing him in captivity and making a plea for help to Christian leaders and state authorities.
“The terrorist killing of Lawan Andimi, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Michika, Adamawa State is cruel, inhuman and deliberately provocative. My deepest condolences to his family, the Christian community across Nigeria, and the Govt & people of Adamawa,” Buhari said on Twitter.
Buhari said the incident had strengthened the government and military’s resolve to defeat all terrorist groups perpetrating death, violence and destruction in Nigeria and across West Africa.
“I am greatly saddened by the fact that the terrorists went on to kill him even while giving signals of a willingness to set him free by releasing him to third parties. This barbarism is condemnable. We will ensure that these terrorists pay a heavy price for their evil actions.”
Nigeria’s northeast region has recently seen a rise in Islamist attacks which have killed more than 36,000 people and displaced millions of others since the Boko Haram insurgency started in 2009.
Last month, 11 Christian aid workers were killed by suspected Boko Haram militants after being kidnapped in Maiduguri and Damaturu.
On the same day, a Christian bride and her bridal party were also killed just days before her wedding as they were traveling from Borno town in Maiduguri to her home in Adamawa state.
The United Nations has also warned of what it called an escalation of violence targeting aid workers following an attack on a facility housing several aid groups on Saturday.
Three internally displaced people were killed in the attack while five UN workers, who were present at the camp at that time, were unharmed.
