Two Christian aid workers have been executed by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram in Nigeria.  

The terrorist group released a video of Godfrey Shikagham and Lawrence Dacighir being killed last week on its website. According to a letter sent to the United Nations secretary-general, the execution was an instance of ethnic cleansing. 

Boko Haram has been responsible for approximately 35,000 civilian deaths over the past decade, making it one of the most violent extremist groups in the world. 

Both of the aid workers were members of the Church of Christ in Nigeria in Plateau state, Christianity Today reported. They were reportedly in Maiduguri to build shelters for displaced people escaping Islamic extremist violence when they were captured by Boko Haram. Shikagham and Dacighir were both identified by their pastor, John Pofi. 

“Lawrence and Godfrey left Abuja for Maiduguri in search of opportunities to utilize their skills for the betterment of humanity and paid with their lives,” Pofi told Christianity Today. “We will never get their corpses to bury. The community will have to make do with a makeshift memorial to these young lives cut short so horrifically.”

Emmanuel Ogebe, attorney of the US-Nigeria Law Group, expressed concerns that Nigeria’s government officials didn't denounce the killing of the two men and feared more instances like this are imminent. 

“More executions of humanitarian workers could yet occur,” Ogebe wrote in a letter to the UN. 

“Despite these humanitarian organizations’ resilience in still serving victims, the Nigerian Government has since just last week suspended Action Against Hunger and Mercy Corp on dubious grounds,” he added.

In a moment that captured worldwide attention, thanks in part to the advocacy of former First Lady Michelle Obama, more than 275 girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.

The militant group reportedly threatened to sell them into slavery. A large number of the 200-plus schoolgirls were not released until October 2016.