Attack me if you dare, Boko Haram chief taunts Chad, others
THE leader of Boko Haram — the enigmatic Abubakar Shekau — has openly taunted the countries being menaced by the armed Islamist group as they call for a united effort to crush it.
In a video claiming responsibility for the bloody attack on the Nigerian town of Baga in early January, Shekau poured contempt on the presidents of Chad, Cameroun and Niger, goading Chad’s Idriss Deby Itno with the message: “African kings… I challenge you to attack me now. I am ready.”
The Baga attack on January 3 in which hundreds are feared to have been killed has been called a crime against humanity by Washington and Paris.
In the video that has just emerged on YouTube, Shekau also accused Cameroun President Paul Biya of being too afraid to ask for help in the face of group’s ever-increasing belligerence.
Cameroun has also seen repeated recent attacks, including the kidnapping of dozens of people, mostly women and children, during a deadly attack on Sunday.
To Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou, who Shekau noted had commiserated with France after the recent Islamist attacks in Paris, he said: “Muhammad Yusuf (Mahamadou Issoufou), is that your job? Ah, ah, ah! Muhammad Yusuf, you will see. President of Niger, you will see,” he said.
Shekau’s provocative video, came as a regional summit opened in Nigeria on Tuesday aimed at stopping Boko Haram whose insurgency has left 13,000 dead and forced 1.5 million from their homes since 2009.
Leaders from Ghana and Chad have called for a unified effort in confronting the Islamist militants.
Chad sent a convoy of troops and 400 military vehicles on Saturday into neighbouring Cameroon to fight Boko Haram, as Nigeria’s neighbours appeared to be losing patience with the Nigerian army’s passivity.
– ‘We will not stop’ –
Little is known of “Shekau”, with some experts and Nigerian security officials insisting that he is in fact a composite character whose role is taken by a rotating cast of different militant fighters.
According to security services, the original Abubakar Shekau was the son of poor farmers who was radicalised while attending theological schools and took over Boko Haram in 2010.
The Nigerian military said last September that a man posing as Shekau in videos posted online had in fact been killed after fighting with troops in the far northeast.
The United States and other experts, however, have questioned the credibility of that claim while Shekau outright rejected it in a video obtained by AFP last October.
“Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath,” he said in that video.
The insurgent leader, sanctioned by the UN Security Council and declared a “global terrorist” by the United States, issued a similarly boastful denial in 2013 after the military claimed he may have died from a gunshot wound.
Boko Haram’s claim of responsibility for the Baga attack — in which large parts of the town were burnt to the ground and at least 16 surrounding settlements razed — was not unexpected given the testimony of survivors.
“We killed the people of Baga. We indeed killed them, as our Lord instructed us in His Book,” Shekau said in the 35-minute message.
He added: “We will not stop. This is not much. You’ll see.”
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
1 Comments
My name is victor yakubu am from bayelsa state i was among the successful candidates that wrote the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) exam in the year 2015, i am so happy as this was my fourth time of writing it and all my appreciation goes to Air Vice Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar for his assistance i am very happy that few months from now i will be a member of Nigeria Air Force (NAF). if your name is still not out yet, i will advice you contact him to help you before the last list is out and it is only few names that will be released so hurry up and here is Air Vice Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar number 08144702657. 08077687246. you can also contact him on facebook Avm SB Abubakar. thanks for all you have don in my life sir.
We will review and take appropriate action.