by Adeola Balogun

The leader of Boko Haram has again resurfaced in a video which is said to have been exclusively obtained by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The leader of the terrorist sect is said to have proclaimed that his followers were responsible for the recent attack on a military base and airport in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno.

Shekau said:

“Allah the Almighty has given us victory in the attack we launched inside Maiduguri (which was) called Borno in ancient times,” 

Leadership reports:

Speaking in Arabic, Hausa and Kanuri widely spoken in North-East Nigeria, Shekau added: “We stormed the city and fought them (and) Allah blessed us with lots of booty.”

The video, which was obtained through an intermediary, shows Shekau dressed in military fatigues with a turban and Kalashnikov assault rifle leaning on his chest.

He spoke for 19 minutes in all while the rest of the tape shows images of burning buildings and aircraft said to be from the Dec 2 attack in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State.

It also shows a display of weapons the banned Islamist group says it seized in the attack, including dozens of Kalashnikovs and rockets.

The authenticity of the tape could not be verified independently.

Gunmen who arrived in pick-up trucks besieged an army and air force base, destroying aircraft, razing buildings and setting shops and petrol stations ablaze, witnesses said.

The early morning raid was seen as significant because the Nigerian military had previously claimed to have pushed the militants out of urban centres and into more remote, rural areas.