Boko Haram slaughtered own wives before Bama showdown •Troops discover scores of dead bodies in wells

Dozens of Nigerian women who were forced to marry Boko Haram insurgents were reportedly slaughtered by their “husbands” before a battle with troops in Bama, multiple witnesses said on Thursday.

Five witnesses who recounted the massacre to the Nigerian Tribune said the insurgents feared they would be killed by advancing soldiers or separated from their wives when they fled the town.

They killed the women to prevent them from subsequently marrying soldiers or other so-called non-believers, they added.

“The terrorists said they will not allow their wives to be married to infidels,” said Sharifatu Bakura, 39, a mother of three.

According to Bakura’s account, which was supported by others, Boko Haram insurgents received word of a military assault on Bama, formerly their stronghold in Borno State.

The insurgents had decided to flee to the nearby town of Gwoza before the troops’ arrival, but first decided “to kill their wives so that nobody will remarry them,” she said.

Bukara’s husband was killed by the insurgents four months ago, but she was spared from a forced marriage, because she was visibly pregnant.

Boko Haram insurgents forcibly married scores of women in Bama after seizing it in September, but Nigeria’s military announced the recapture of the town on Monday.

Witnesses, who were taken under military protection this week to Borno’s capital, Maiduguri, 73 kilometres (45 miles) away, said the killing of women began 10 days before Bama was liberated.

The insurgents said “if they kill their wives, they would remain pious until they meet again in heaven, where they would re-unite,” said Salma Mahmud, another witness.

A vigilante, who fought alongside the military in the battle to retake Bama, Abba Kassim, said he saw “dozens of women corpses” in the town.

Nigeria’s national security spokesperson, Mike Omeri, told the Nigerian Tribune that he would try to verify the report, however, the military could be reached immediately for comment.