A Christian bridal party has been murdered by an Islamic terror group days before the wedding was due to take place.
Bride-to-be Martha Bulus was beheaded along with every member of her group by Boko Haram extremists on 26th December, according to a spokesperson for a Nigerian Catholic Diocese.
Communications director for the Diocese of Maiduguri, Father Francis Arinse, told the Catholic News Service the group was travelling from Maiduguri to her home in Adamawa when the incident took place.
"They were beheaded by suspected Boko Haram insurgents at Gwoza on their way to her country home," Father Francis said.
The murders happened on the same day extremist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) released a video claiming to show the beheading of ten Christian men in an act of revenge following the deaths of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and its spokesman.
Arinse has called for greater security by government agencies to ensure such incidents do not escalate further within the north eastern region.
Christian watchdog Release International recently named Nigeria as a key country of concern for 2020 due to the persecution faced by tens of thousands of Christians there.
Speaking to Premier, Andrew Boyd from the organisation expressed particular concern for the "underreported" actions of Fulani militia and criticised the Nigerian government for "not doing enough" to address the problem.
