Abubakar Shekau
Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Jama’atu Ahlil Sunnah Lil Da’awatu
Wal Jihad, a faction of the Boko Haram terrorist group, has appeared in a
video, praising his fighters and boasting of recent “success” in their
battle in Kumshe, Gulumba and in other areas in the crisis-torn
northeast Nigeria.
Wearing a military camouflage, with an AK47 rifle, surrounded by
four body guards, Shekau appeared more agile than in the last video he
released on July 23. Back then, he looked weak, and sat on the floor,
donning a white robe. This time, he stood all through the
seven-minute-46-second video in full fighting gear.
“I will not say a lot, whatever you wish to say, Allah is sufficient for you,” Shekau said.
“We are a people that detached ourselves from others to wage
war because of Allah, and preach because of Allah to ensure that the
flag of Islam is raised, to ensure that Islam spreads, until we are no
longer active. Those that said I have died, I will only die when it is
my time.”
Also, for the first time, Shekau mentioned his mother who was featured in a VOA report.
“Those that had whatever to say between me and my mother, Allah is the knower of all things,” he said.
“The war we waged in Kumshe, Gulumba and some of the villages in the
region that you have heard of recently, were carried out by us and the
victories given to us was by Allah alone, it is not by our power or
weapons.”
SaharaReporters got hold of Shekau’s latest video on Friday, a day
after Boko Haram released a video footage of its raid on a Nigerian
military formation in Kumshe, Borno State.
In it, its fighters were seen assembled and driving Hilux vans
painted in military colours, wielding assault rifles, as they attacked a
military facility in Kumshe.
The attack took place “at 5pm last Sunday, the 4th of November,” a spokesman of the group said.
The video, nine minutes and 27 seconds long, showed the fighters
moving in a convoy of trucks and other fighters on foot, in a fire fight
with the military.
The images also showed arms and ammunition the group claimed to
have seized during the attack and other personal belongings of soldiers,
including a photo album with pictures of the leadership of the
military, including the photo of late Major General Idris Alkali who was
killed recently in Jos and his corpse found in a well.
Watch the video below: