After over seven months of silence, self-acclaimed leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau has resurfaced in a new propaganda video, saying he is alive and providing encouragement for his fighters who have been under heavy pressure from regional forces.
In the seven-minute video released on Thursday, a weak Abubakar Shekau appears in a military fatigue with a rifle resting on his left shoulder and said he wanted to thank his followers for their dedication.
What he said in both Hausa and Arabic languages partly translates to: “This is a message of greeting and joy for you to see my face,” said Shekau, who in March 2015 pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in an audio message.
“This is my desire: that whoever sees this will hear nothing but greetings between me and you. Only Allah knows the rest, as you believed (and) as you submitted. For me the end has come.
“This is only the message I want to send to you for you to understand that this is certainly I. This is why I did this.
“May Allah protect us so that no hypocrite stands between us. May Allah protect us from the devil so that he doesn’t achieve his evil among us.
“May Allah protect us and may we stand firm on the path of Allah. I thank my creator.”
Nigerian forces have continued to insist that the real Shekau has been killed about two years ago when troops raided one of the strongholds of the terror group.
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