‘I’m fine now’, Shekau tells army in first video since ‘fatal injury’

Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram, has released a new video claiming he is “fine now” after being struck by the Nigerian army in an air raid.

On August 23, the army had claimed that Shekau was “fatally injured on his shoulder” in the air raid.

“In what one could describe as the most unprecedented and spectacular air raid, we have just confirmed that as a result of the interdiction efforts of the Nigerian Air Force, some key leaders of the Boko Haram terrorists have been killed while others were fatally wounded,” Sani Usman, spokesman of the army, said in a s tatement.

“The air interdiction took place last week Friday 19th August 2016, while the terrorists were performing Friday rituals at Taye village, Gombale general area within Sambisa forest, Borno State.

“Those Boko Haram terrorists commanders confirmed dead include Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, amongst others, while their leader, the so-called ‘Abubakar Shekau’, is believed to be fatally wounded on his shoulders. Several other terrorists were also wounded.”

On September 14, Boko Haram released a video of its “Eid-el-Kabir prayer”, which did not feature Shekau. In it, the group threatened to capture President Muhammadu Buhari, whom it described as “leader of the entire infidels”.

However, in the new video clip released on Sunday, Shekau said that with God, he was fully prepared against the Nigerian armed forces.

He reiterated that to secure the Chibok girls’ freedom, the federal government should release its members dead or alive.

“People of Nigeria, Buhari and his wife, Idris Derby who has a goat eye, and people of Niger and the whole world. I’m fine now but once my time is up, you won’t see me again,” he said.

“You should all prepare with all your armed forces, even with our own John Kerry of US. They should all prepare with Ban Ki-moon also.

“But with my God I’m fully prepared. This one is my own belief and this is the kind of religion I want to spread to the whole world. We are not part of sociology, but we are of the Quran and Hadith ideology (narrative of Prophet Mohammad).

“We are dull people in our own place. It is my own religion giving me sense of direction and we have our own belief. You posing with plane but it’s rubbish. We have belief in our own God. Even with the special weapons. We Stand firm with our God and it will be useless.

“You go to Iraq to kill with no shame, you are using your plane to fly up when our God is up. Is it with that you will catch us? It’s one God we bow to. Didn’t they hear about our religion?

“Do you think democracy is a religion for Hausa or fulani  in Nigeria? You think you are major-general carrying your head up, instead of bowing down to God, you are bowing down to cows; he doesn’t have the fear of God.”