#SEO: Boko Haram leader, Shekau claims victory over military in new video

by Rachel Ogbu

Boko-Haram-leader-Abubakar-Shekau-360x225

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau has claimed that Nigerian soldiers had withdrawn from the ongoing military offensive against terrorism and that insurgents had sustained little damage, AFP reports.

On Tuesday, a new video was released. It’s the first public statement from Shekau since the declaration of emergency rule on May 15 when the Nigerian military was deployed to Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

“Since we started this ongoing war which they call a state of emergency … in some instances soldiers who faced us turned and ran,” Shekau said.

In the hour-long video, he claimed Nigerian forces “threw down their arms in flight.”

“We call to us our brethren in these countries I mentioned. Oh! Our brethren, come to us,” he said in the video, which alternates between Arabic and the Hausa language spoken across northern Nigeria,” he said.

READ: [#SOE: Soldiers arrest 120 suspected Boko Haram members at burial of sect commander ]

The AFP reports,

Shekau’s whereabouts cannot be determined in the video, in which he is shown seated while dressed in camouflage with a turban, an AK-47 at his side.

His comments contradict statements from the military, which has claimed much success during the offensive, including the destruction of Boko Haram camps and dozens of arrests.

It has been impossible to verify the claims of either side independently, with the military having cut mobile phone service in much of the country’s northeast and access to remote locations restricted.

The video later purports to show vehicles and weapons seized from Nigerian soldiers.

Shekau, designated a global terrorist by the United States last year, repeats earlier statements that Boko Haram “will not stop the kidnap of your women and children until you set free our women and children, and our brethren.”

He also says Boko Haram’s goal is either the creation of an Islamic state or “martyrdom”.

The video was delivered to AFP through an intermediary in a manner similar to previous Boko Haram messages. The images of Shekau in the video are consistent with those previously released.

Nigeria launched the offensive against Boko Haram after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three states in the country’s northeast, the Islamist insurgents’ stronghold.

Comments (4)

  1. He is only saying dat 2 make it look like dey are still united,dey have been disberned…u will ask 4 help wen u are cought red handed I bet u!

  2. i may not know what you are really looking for in this country that you can’t get it peacefully. let me assure mr leader if other terrorists have succeed you will, but because i know they never succeeded believe me you time is very short or you repent from all these.

  3. Whatever situation u cause in this country remember ur children and grand children will also suffer it, its just a matter of time

  4. Whether you like it or not, you WILL FALL the way your god-father, Osama Bin Laden fell sooner or later. Mark my words.

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