Again, Boko Haram releases new video without Shekau

Borno procures hospital equipment for destroyed health centres

Boko Haram has released a new video showing hundreds of its members praying during the just-concluded Eid-el-Kabir.

The video, posted on YouTube late Tuesday without its embattled leader Abubakar Shekau, showed an unidentified man in a white robe and a sword by his side leading the prayers in a mosque.

The man, who claimed to be representing Shekau, said in Hausa Language: “My brethren, today is Eid … in the Islamic Caliphate under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau, may Allah protect him.

“We convey our Eid greetings to our brethren all over the world under the Islamic Caliphate and especially our leader, Abubakar Shekau, may Allah protect him.”

He then criticised the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, saying the Islamic group would fight on despite a military crackdown, adding: “No retreat, no surrender.”

The clip, which was filmed on Monday, also showed hundreds of malnourished villagers, including children.

The Nigerian Air Force had recently said they killed more than 300 insurgents in an aerial bombardment where Shekau was also said to have been badly injured.

Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, told The Guardian that the recent threat by the sect was just “another cry of a sinking ship, badly decimated and groping in the dark for a respite. The military would not lose focus on the bigger picture of ensuring that the insurgents are completely weeded out of the country.”

Meanwhile, the Borno State government said it had procured N1.1 billion hospital equipment and facilities for the 60 comprehensive healthcare centres that were destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents in the state.

Governor Kashim Shettima disclosed this when the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Garbai Al-Amin El-Kanemi, paid him a Sallah visit at the Government House in Maiduguri.

He said: “We are determined to change the face of Borno and rewrite its history so that our people can go back to their communities for us to restore their dignity. Though we are poor, we still carry our poverty with dignity.”

The Shehu expressed gratitude to the governor for all the support he had been rendering to traditional institutions. He also congratulated him on his 50th birthday that was celebrated with award of scholarships to 50 Boko Haram orphans.