Boko Haram has reportedly issued a one-week ultimatum to the Federal Government, threatening mass execution of 176 women and children abducted from the Woro community in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The attackers reportedly conveyed the threat through the abducted victims following a Jumu’ah prayer session last Friday. The traditional ruler of the community, Salihu Bio, whose wife is said to be among the captives, confirmed the development on Monday.

He explained that the insurgents allowed one of the victims to contact her family over the weekend to relay their message. Bio was quoted as saying: “The abductees told us that after the Jumu’ah prayer on Friday, the terrorists said the government was not taking the matter seriously and that if nothing is done within one week, they will begin to take drastic actions.”

The terrorists, who abducted the community members on February 3, have been demanding over N3 billion for the release of the victims. Abductees, including traditional and religious leaders in the affected communities, were seen in two separate videos released on April 2 and 9, two months after they begged the state and federal government to rescue them from their captors’ hands. In the latest footage, the victims, mostly women and children, appeared visibly exhausted and distressed.

Many were seen wearing soiled clothes as they stood closely together under tense conditions while being addressed by armed men. Bio said the terrorists voiced frustration over what they described as the government’s lack of commitment to negotiations, despite the resources they claim to be spending to keep the captives alive.

“The terrorists allowed one of the abductees to call her family on Saturday, and she confirmed that they were all fine. She also said the captors had been teaching them Arabic and Islamic knowledge,” he said. According to reports, the hoodlums threatened to marry off some of the girls and kill those they considered liabilities if no agreement was reached within the deadline.

The reports quoted a source as saying: “The Boko Haram fighters complained that they are spending money and resources to feed the abductees and that nothing is coming out of it. “They said if nothing is agreed upon within one week, they will start marrying off some of the girls and kill those they consider liabilities. We are helpless. “These are our wives and children. Now they are threatening to kill them or force them into marriage.”