Boko Haram rejected claims from Nigeria’s military that it has been routed
by a four-nation offensive in a video released online on Tuesday, which
does not show the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau.
The unidentified speaker, his face obscured by a headscarf, instead called
Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, who have been battling the Islamists,
“the lying coalition partners”.
“Most of our territory is still under our control,” said the speaker in
the 10-minute message which was posted on the video-sharing site YouTube.
The video bears the logo “Islamic State in West Africa” and follows the
Nigerian militants’ pledge of allegiance in an audio message in March to
the IS group, that has overrun large parts of Syria and Iraq.
– Shekau absent –
The message is the first video released by Boko Haram since February, when
Shekau was shown in high definition footage and vowed to disrupt Nigeria’s
elections.
He has featured prominently in most of the group’s videos over the last
three years and his absence in the latest message will likely stir further
debate on his whereabouts or possible death.
Nigeria’s military has previously claimed to have killed Shekau only for
him then to pop up on another video. The authorities have explained such
appearances away by saying that the role of “Shekau” was filled by various
lookalike insurgents.
Analysts have typically viewed Boko Haram as a factionalised group, with a
relatively weak central command structure.
It is possible that the movement towards the IS group in the Middle East
followed a split among the Nigerian militants and that Shekau — if he is
still alive — has lost a degree of control.
But solid information concerning power struggles within Boko Haram has
been scant to non-existent, so the current make-up of the group is largely
unknown.
‘False propoganda’ –
The speaker in the new message appears in front of two pick-up trucks,
with four other gunmen visible in the background.
He speaks in the Hausa language that is dominant in northern Nigeria with
Arabic and English subtitles shown below.
An AK-47 rifle rests on his chest as he seeks to rebuke the claims of
successes made in recent weeks by the coalition.
“The armies claim through the media that they captured our towns and that
they assaulted Sambisa (forest) and defeated us,” he said, referring to
the bushland area in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state that has been an
Islamist stronghold.
“I swear by Allah that I am talking right now from Sambisa… Here in
Sambisa you can travel more than four to five hours under the black flag
of Islam by car or by motorbike.”
“We are uncountable in Sambisa. We are thousands of Mujahedeen here,” he
further said, dismissing claims of the insurgents’ defeat as “false
propaganda”.
– Scenes of violence –
The latter parts of the video include depictions of gruesome violence,
including executions of apparent civilians and one man in a Nigeria police
uniform, who are shot at close range.
“President of Nigeria Jonathan” is mentioned, referring to Goodluck
Jonathan, who handed over power to Muhammadu Buhari last Friday, two
months after the latter’s victory in elections on March 28.
In his inaugural speech as president on Friday, Buhari described Boko
Haram as “mindless” and “godless” and vowed to demolish the group during
his tenure.
But the Islamists struck hours after Buhari was sworn in, launching a
series of attacks since Saturday in Borno’s capital Maiduguri, deploying
suicide bombers and fighting armed with rocket-propelled grenades.
AFP