Some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls have been killed by Nigerian military air strikes, according to a new video from Boko Haram, which shows one kidnap victim pleading for authorities to bow to the extremists’ demands that they release detained militants in return for the girls.
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“There are a number of the girls, about 40 of them, that have been married”, said the man in the 11-minute video.
News of the video release first emerged on Twitter, with Nigerian Blogger, Ahmad Salkida, claiming it was sent to him by the Abubakar Shekau faction of the Boko Haram.
While Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the group is “technically defeated”, his Government has struggled to find the girls – a political embarrassment for the leadership highlighting Boko Haram’s continued presence in the region.
A video purportedly showing some girls kidnapped by Nigeria-based terror group Boko Haram is a strategy used by the group’s contested leader Abubakar Shekau to show he still controls the group, a security analyst has told IBTimes UK.
“This focuses on using the girls as a bargaining chip”, said Ryan Cummings, director at intelligence firm Signal Risk.
Sources believe the timing of this new video is no coincidence as it comes on the back of a leadership crisis within Boko Haram.
In March 2015, Shekau pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and changed Boko Haram’s name to ISWAP, prompting fears the Nigerian insurgency would be bolstered by its connection to the global jihadists.
The mass abduction brought Boko Haram to the world’s attention and even got the participation of USA first lady Michelle Obama in the #BringBackOurGirls social media campaign, promising her husband would do all in his power to help liberate them.
However, there have been few signs that Boko Haram has benefited from the alliance, as the Nigerian military recaptures territory once controlled by the insurgents.
Over the past year, the military has announced the rescue of hundreds of people, a lot of them women and children, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram.
Some of them managed to escape, but about 215 girls remain missing.
Chibok community leader Pogu Bitrus told The Associated Press the video was being watched at the weekly rally of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign at Unity Fountain in Abuja, the capital.
“We are also being guided by the need to ensure the safety of the girls”.
“The frustration will always be there”.
“Oh you, my people and our parents, you just have to please come to our rescue: We are suffering here, the aircraft has come to bombard us and killed many of us”.
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It’s estimated that the terrorist group killed more than 6,000 people in attacks a year ago.
