The former chief amputee of the Islamist group Boko Haram learned his bloody trade in a crash course: on YouTube. There are instructional videos on limb amputation that have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, but are intended for medical students around the world. And certainly not for the seller Modu Mohammed. Before he became radicalized, he had worked in a market in north-eastern Nigeria, initially offering fish and later medicines, he was only called “the pharmacist”. The latter meant that he was suddenly in charge of medical affairs at Boko Haram when he was persuaded 15 years ago to leave his civilian life behind for the establishment of an Islamic theocracy.
Modu looked to YouTube for inspiration for caring for wounded terrorists. Times for caring for those convicted under the brutal Sharia law enforced by the Islamists in conquered areas.