It had been raining heavily for over 24 hours in Maiyanga village, a small community located in Central Nigeria’s Irigwe chiefdom. But two hours before the attack the rain stopped.

“The river was filled with so much water,” a source, preferring anonymity, told ICC. “Anyone who attempted to cross would be taken away.”

So, when the Fulani militants came at 4 am that morning, there was no way out.

“We ran and hid by the riverside,” the source continued. “But the ground was wet enough to leave our footprint behind, and we could be easily traced.”

One set of muddy footprints led the gunmen to Hannatu Yakubu, who was hiding in a hold by the river, holding her three-month-old daughter, Ruth.

“I heard the gunmen negotiating with Hannatu,” said the source. “Because she could not reveal the whereabouts of men as they demanded, they decided to kill her. But she pleaded with them to spare her daughter, Ruth.”

According to the source, the men agreed to let Ruth live at that moment but they promised Hannatu that Ruth would eventually die of hunger.

“They reached out and picked up Ruth from her mother and threw her away by the side. After that, they shot her mother without delay, leaving Ruth at the mercy of God in the cold weather.”

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