In a new video releases on Thursday, December 29, the elusive leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, was seen disputing a claim by President Muhammadu Buhari that the jihadist group had been routed from its Sambisa Forest stronghold.
In the 25-minute video, Shekau who was flanked by armed fighters, said: “We are safe. We have not been flushed out of anywhere. And tactics and strategies cannot reveal our location except if Allah wills by his decree.”
While referring to Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari who said on Christmas Eve that the extremist group had been defeated and driven away from the forest, its last known bastion, Shekau said; “You should not be telling lies to the people.
“If you indeed crushed us, how can you see me like this? How many times have you killed us in your bogus death?” he asked.
It was not immediately clear where the new video was shot, but Shekau who spoke in both Hausa and Arabic said it was filmed on Christmas Day.
Shekau last appeared in a video in September where he disputed a claim by the Nigerian military that he had been wounded in battle. He vowed to continue fighting on until an Islamic state was imposed in northern Nigeria.
“Our aim is to establish an Islamic Caliphate and we have our own Caliphate, we are not part of Nigeria.”
