Islamists in Nigeria have killed an aid worker who was being held hostage after a deadline imposed by the militants expired, the Nigerian government said on Monday.

Medical workers Hauwa Mohammed Liman and Alice Loksha were working in the town of Rann in March when they were kidnapped by Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) along with International Committee of the Red Cross midwife Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa, who was killed in September.

The militants said in a video posted online last month that they would kill at least one hostage once a deadline due to elapse on Monday had passed.