Boko Haram slit throats of 12

Maiduguri - A Nigerian military says Boko Haram militants have slit the throats of 12 people in northeast Nigeria as the army was trying to evacuate civilians from the area.

The Islamist group has been driven out of much of the huge swathe of territory they controlled at the start of the year, thanks to a concerted push by troops from Nigeria and neighbours Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

The town of Gwoza, in mountainous terrain, was one of the last places to fall, on 27 March and there remain pockets of Boko Haram activity in the area, security sources say.

Lost election

"Just as troops were trying to evacuate some civilians from the hills so as to safeguard them from a planned air strike ... some Boko Haram attacked them and slit the throats of 12 people."

Failure to crush Boko Haram or protect civilians was one reason President Goodluck Jonathan lost an election on 28 March to Muhammadu Buhari.

Boko Haram, fighting to establish an Islamic state, has killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds during its six-year-old insurgency in Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer.