Capturing 'The Butcher'

A member of the Chadian military forces holds the head of a prisoner who is accused of belonging to the Boko Haram insurgency. Accused of killing five people, the soldiers nicknamed him ‘The Butcher.’

He was captured in a remote area of Nigeria, where Chad, Niger and Cameroon have launched a military campaign to help Nigeria defeat Boko Haram, the militant group which aims to carve an Islamic emirate out of northeastern Nigeria.

"The man was accused of killing five people the way Boko Haram does, cutting their throat with a knife."
Emmanuel Braun, Reuters Photographer

I was covering the Chad army offensive inside Nigeria against the insurgent group Boko Haram when I shot this picture. It shows a prisoner, believed to belong to Boko Haram, caught during the ride we had with the Chadian troops on the battle field.

Most Boko Haram fighters had left but a few isolated ones were caught that day. A Chadian soldier told me: "Come and see this guy, he killed five men by cutting their throat and he's not even denying it."

He was accused of killing five people the way Boko Haram does, cutting their throat with a knife. That is why one of the soldiers gave him a nickname ‘The Butcher'. He was suddenly materialising all the horror and fear of Boko Haram.

The soldiers violently dragged the prisoner to expose him to the press. The challenge with this picture was being fast enough to shoot it before the other journalists showed up and made it impossible.

I think it is a strong picture because of the brutality which emanates from the scene. The soldier presents the prisoner like you do with an animal at a fair.