In a haunting renewal of their vow, Nigeria’s notorious extremist herdsmen, operating under the guise of a radical interpretation of Islam, Boko Haram have once again declared their unwavering determination to eliminate individuals they believe have defamed their faith or criticised their identity in public, no matter how long it will take.

In the early hours of Thursday, a shadowy communiqué released by the Islamist terrorist, through encrypted online channels, repeated their brutal resolve: “We will strike at any time, anywhere. Those who have stained the name of Allah shall not find refuge on any soil.”

This was days after a small village, Ugboju, community in Benue State, was thrown into chaos when armed militants stormed the settlement in a coordinated night assault, where one Usman Doya, a man who had been on the group’s internal watchlist since 2020 was gruesomely killed. Doya had gone into hiding years ago after voicing strong criticisms of the growing wave of extremist violence in northern Nigeria.

His body was discovered the following morning, alongside those of six villagers caught in the ambush as the entire village was reportedly left in ruins.

It was in the aftermath of this attack that a list was leaked, an unofficial register of individuals allegedly marked for elimination by the extremist group. The leak confirmed long-standing rumours of a death list targeting activists, critics, and dissidents who had spoken out against extremist ideologies and herdsmen-led violence.

In the newly leaked list circulated by sources close to local intelligence networks, names of targeted individuals dating back as far as 2018 have emerged. Among them are critics, activists, and citizens who had once spoken out against the brutal tactics used by extremist factions in the Middle Belt.

One such case dates back to 2018, when a prominent youth leader, John Dibia, whose name appears on the leaked list, was brutally murdered in his home in Abuja. He had been vocal in condemning the radicalised group’s violence and urging his people to resist. Years later, his name resurfaced among those targeted.

In an emotional reaction to the latest vow, the village head of a well-known community in Benue condemned not just the attack but the government’s long-standing silence. “The communities are so porous. Ogbumogbo, Ejima, and all those areas down to Ikpele, those villages have been deserted for close to one year. So, it is like a colony of herdsmen.”

“How can a group make their intention known many years ago and still succeed in killing that person?” he asked. “What then is the role of government if not to protect lives?”

The list includes several prominent figures, but only one, Sunday Igboho, a well-known Yoruba self-determination advocate, has been definitively located. After surviving a violent midnight raid at his home in Oyo State in April 2021, where several of his aides were killed and bodies taken away by the attackers, Igboho fled Nigeria, while others, however, have vanished without a trace.

Sola Ezekiel Asaolu, also a vocal commentator, has reportedly been on the herdsmen’s watchlist since 2019 after condemning the killing of his father by extremist militants. He drew the ire of extremist watchers after his call for local communities to “rise and resist” was labeled as “incitement against Islam” by the radical faction. Following growing online harassment and mysterious surveillance around his residence, Ezekiel disappeared from public view. His current location remains unknown.

Tunde Bako, a radio personality and satirist, regularly parodied militant leaders in his broadcasts, using humour to expose their operations and ideology. After his Abuja studio was mysteriously raided in 2023, he vanished from the airwaves. Close friends say he is now constantly moving to avoid apprehension.

Doshima Ogoh, whose name also appeared on the list, is a human rights activist from Makurdi who led a legal campaign against the Islamist group.

Others on the list include Grace Ayoola, Tunde Dada Folorunsho, Martins Ogoh, Soun Odeyale, Olamide Oladapo, Jephta Bello, and many others.

Tragically, these attacks are not limited to public figures alone. The nation still remembers Deborah Samuel, a teenage student who was murdered by a religious mob in Sokoto in 2022 over a WhatsApp post that was deemed offensive. Her death sparked national outrage but resulted in no meaningful justice.

A community elder from the Middle Belt has issued a dire warning: Anyone whose name is on that list should be on the lookout and on the run. Nobody can save them from these bandits. Even former Minister of Defense, General T.Y. Danjuma, once said in March 2018 that Nigerians must defend themselves. If someone of his standing says that, we are truly on our own.” He advised those on the hit list to continue to run for cover, adding that once the Islamist group targets anyone, they go for him or her without recourse.

With the government’s failure to neutralise the attackers, and with law enforcement largely silent, Nigerians living under the shadow of extremism are left to fashion out means of survival for themselves. Popular social critic based in the diaspora, Kehinde Odulaja, noted that there is a bigger conspiracy of purge that may be going on and the world has not taken note.

He said: “From social activists to freedom fighters on the run, one message is clear, what the bandits are after is not just violence but slow, calculated purge of people against them.

“Whether these people on the list will ever return to their normal lives remains a suspense. For now these people will remain on the run.”