In the wake of world’s outrage over the killing of a second Red Cross worker, Hauwa Liman, by a faction of Boko Haram, her distraught family is hopeful she is alive.
Hauwa, who works with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was reported killed by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the second aid worker to be killed by the jihadists after Saifura Ahmed.
Her father Mohammed Liman said the heart-breaking news, barely a month after another aid worker – Saifura Ahmed – who was abducted with her in March was killed, is hard to believe.
“We feel so bad and we are in doubt if she is dead or alive because we didn’t expect her to be killed so suddenly,” Liman told Channels Television at the family home in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The family had expected that the insurgents would give the government time to meet their demands.
“In fact, we are in doubt because, unless we see her corpse or any evidence that shows she is dead, we still believe that she is living.
“She is living,” her father insisted with her mother and other women in the home breaking down in tears intermittently.
Struggling to keep his emotions in check, Liman appealed to the insurgents to understand that Hauwa was not a warring party and should not have been made to face the ordeal she faced.
“I appeal to the insurgents to release her because she is not a warring party. She is a humanitarian worker. She treats the young and the women and she is so helpful, even to them; not only to the whole society – even to them,” he said.
Hauwa’s family wants the government to help them get closure.
“We appeal to the government, if she was dead at all, we want the corpse to be brought and we bury her. That will give us peace of mind. Otherwise, we will never forget such an incident in our lives,” her dad pleaded.
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
