Army dismisses new Boko Haram video
A screen grab image taken on September 25, 2016 shows Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau making a statement at an undisclosed location. He says the group is still strong. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- The general urged residents of northern Nigeria to go about their normal lawful businesses but remain vigilant and be security conscious.
- In the video, the fugitive insurgent says he is safe and that his forces have not been crushed as the Nigerian military declared last week.
ABUJA
The trending 25-minute video released by Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was on Friday dismissed by the Nigerian military as terrorist propaganda.
The video was released by Al Jazeera and AFP on Thursday, but Sani Usman, the military spokesperson, slammed Shekau “for making spurious claims from his undisclosed location”.
“While effort is ongoing to subject the video to forensic analysis, the Nigerian army wishes to reiterate that it has captured and occupied the last known stronghold of the terrorists in the Sambisa Forest,” Brig Gen Usman said.
“We would like to reassure the public that this video is nothing but mere propaganda aimed at making terrorists appear relevant and creating fear in the minds of the people.”
He said there should be no cause for alarm.
“Efforts are being made to clear the remnants of the terrorists whenever they could be hiding,” the military spokesman added.
He said the “gallant” troops deployed in various parts of the northeast had intensified the search for people associated with Boko Haram with a view to bringing them to justice.
STILL STRONG
The general urged residents of northern Nigeria to go about their normal lawful businesses but remain vigilant and be security conscious.
He added that any suspicious person or group should be reported to security agencies immediately.
In the video, the fugitive insurgent says he is safe and that his forces have not been crushed as the Nigerian military declared last week.
“We have not been flushed out of anywhere. Tactics and strategies cannot reveal our location, except if Allah decrees,” Shekau boasts.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, declared on December 24 that Boko Haram insurgents had been technically defeated.
“If you indeed crushed us, how can you see me like this? How many times have you killed us in your bogus death?” Shekau asks.
The insurgent, who speaks in Hausa and Arabic, says the video was shot on December 25, just a day after the report of the commanders of Operation Lafiya Dole, that the bloody insurgency in the northeast had been neutralised.
Al Jazeera reported Shekau as vowing to continue fighting until an Islamic state was established in Nigeria.
