Nigeria military accused of executing 48 men

Nigeria's military has been accused of carrying out execution-style killings of 48 young men rounded up in the stronghold of the country's Islamist rebels.

In May Mr Shuwa had told AFP that he could potentially be targetted by Boko Haram Islamists Photo: AFP

 Dozens of men were forced from their homes in house to house searches in Maiduguri and marched to an open field where their faces were compared to photographic databases, the BBC reported on Friday.

Some were separated and then shot. Reports said 48 died. One religious leader said that four of his children were killed in front of him.

The report came as a retired Nigerian general, Mohammed Shuwa, who was a key figure in the 1960s civil war, was on Friday shot dead by unknown gunmen at his home in Maiduguri.

"Four men initially thought to be his visitors... entered his house and opened fire on the general and his guests. One of the guests died on the spot while the general died on the way" to the hospital, said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa.

In an interview at his home in May, Shuwa told AFP that he could potentially be targetted by Boko Haram Islamists who have carried out scores of attacks in the city, which is considered their home base.

source: The telegraph