Shekau claims to be alive in new video.
The leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has described as “propaganda,” the claim by the Defence Headquarters that he was killed early September in Kodunga, Borno State.
Shekau, in a new video obtained by Agence-France-Presse on Thursday, boasted that “nothing could kill him” until the day Allah stopped his breathing.
He also claimed in the 36-minute video that Boko Haram fighters shot down the Nigerian Air Force fighter jet which was reported missing three weeks ago by the Defence Headquarters.
Last week, the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, told a news conference in Abuja that troops killed Shekau and that his corpse was identified by the people of Kodunga.
Olukolade illustrated his claim with pictures of the bullet-ridden corpse with Shekau’s semblance and a video of the battle in which he was killed.
He had also said that Shekau whose real name he gave as Mohammed Bashir had other names like Abacha Abdullahi Geidam and Damasack.
A day before the DHQ claim, a newspaper, quoting a military source, reported that Shekau was killed by Cameroonian soldiers during aerial bombardment of his hideout in Nigeria.
The Cameroonian newspaper also printed pictures of a bullet-ridden corpse of a man it said was the Boko Haram leader.
A former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, however questioned the credibility of the Nigerian military’s claim.
Campbell said, “Who knows whether Shekau is alive or dead? The question may not matter much. As Boko Haram’s resurrection after the killing of its genuinely charismatic leader, Mohammed Yusuf, shows, the movement is remarkably resilient, and not dependent on a single leader.
“If Shekau is alive, as I suspect he is, evidence is scant as to what his actual role in the movement’s leadership is. Boko Haram is more than Abubakar Shekau, alive or dead.”
In the new video, Shekau is seen standing in front of three camouflaged vans and flanked by four heavily armed and masked fighters.
He wore combat fatigues and black rubber boots and firing an anti-aircraft gun into the air, Shekau spoke for about 16 minutes in Arabic and Hausa languages widely spoken in most parts of northern Nigeria.
But there was no indication of where or when the video was shot.
Shekau, in a new video obtained by Agence-France-Presse on Thursday, boasted that “nothing could kill him” until the day Allah stopped his breathing.
He also claimed in the 36-minute video that Boko Haram fighters shot down the Nigerian Air Force fighter jet which was reported missing three weeks ago by the Defence Headquarters.
Last week, the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, told a news conference in Abuja that troops killed Shekau and that his corpse was identified by the people of Kodunga.
Olukolade illustrated his claim with pictures of the bullet-ridden corpse with Shekau’s semblance and a video of the battle in which he was killed.
He had also said that Shekau whose real name he gave as Mohammed Bashir had other names like Abacha Abdullahi Geidam and Damasack.
A day before the DHQ claim, a newspaper, quoting a military source, reported that Shekau was killed by Cameroonian soldiers during aerial bombardment of his hideout in Nigeria.
The Cameroonian newspaper also printed pictures of a bullet-ridden corpse of a man it said was the Boko Haram leader.
A former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, however questioned the credibility of the Nigerian military’s claim.
Campbell said, “Who knows whether Shekau is alive or dead? The question may not matter much. As Boko Haram’s resurrection after the killing of its genuinely charismatic leader, Mohammed Yusuf, shows, the movement is remarkably resilient, and not dependent on a single leader.
“If Shekau is alive, as I suspect he is, evidence is scant as to what his actual role in the movement’s leadership is. Boko Haram is more than Abubakar Shekau, alive or dead.”
In the new video, Shekau is seen standing in front of three camouflaged vans and flanked by four heavily armed and masked fighters.
He wore combat fatigues and black rubber boots and firing an anti-aircraft gun into the air, Shekau spoke for about 16 minutes in Arabic and Hausa languages widely spoken in most parts of northern Nigeria.
But there was no indication of where or when the video was shot.
Comments
Post a Comment
For inquiries/tip-off send me a mail at : oviekem@gmail.com. bb pin: 2B1069C4