Bishop Hammawa said that the new strategy might have been chosen by Boko Haram because the terrorist group has met with stronger opposition, and its direct military attacks have been less successful.
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“I, Abubakar Ash-Shakawy (Shekau), the leader of Jama’atu Ahlissunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, made it a duty for myself to fight Nigeria and the whole world”.
Abubakar Shekau recently released a 24-minute clip vowing he would continue to fight. The video came days after Boko Haram’s ally, the Isis terror group, replaced Shekau with Abu Musab al-Barnawi, former Boko Haram spokesperson.
About 1,900 herdsmen have been killed by Boko Haram terrorists in separate attacks within four years in Borno, the Al-Hayah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria said on Wednesday.
Shekau ridiculed suggestions that he was dead, and looked more composed and energetic than in previous appearances.
In the video he is wearing camouflage gear and holding a machine gun, standing between two Islamist fighters in balaclavas armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
The war of words comes after the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) last month condemned the Muhammadu Buhari administration over increasing violence against non-Muslims and warned Christians to defend themselves following the killing at the weekend of a female Christian preacher. “I can assure. the people of Plateau state that they will never witness Boko Haram attacks like you witnessed in the past”.
Shekau pledged allegiance to al-Baghdadi in March 2015, giving the Islamic State group its first franchise in sub-Saharan Africa.
Shekau became leader after Nigerian security forces killed the group’s founding chief Mohammed Yusuf in 2009. “This aspect seems to be a key concern for IS propagandists”, Mahmood said.
Otto added that Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim) could be interested in allying with Shekau, given his refusal to accept Barnawi as his replacement.
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Boko Haram insurgents have started fleeing to Europe and Syria as a result of food scarcity in the north-east.
