LAGOS
Boko Haram's chief militant has paid homage to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-styled "caliph" of the self-proclaimed Islamic state, in a new video in which the group kept mum on ongoing Israeli attacks on Palestinians.
"My regards to my leaders, like Mullah [Mohamed] Umar, the amirul Mumininin in Afghanistan [and] great minds like [Al-Qaeda leader] Sheikh [Ayman] Al-Zawahiri… [and] al-Baghdadi," Abubakar Shekau reportedly said, according to a transcript of the video published by the Premium Times, a local news website.
Al-Baghdadi was recently named "caliph" of the self-declared "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria.
Shekau, who is addressed simply as "imam" or leader by his followers, did not, however, pledge allegiance to the ISIL or express direct support for the "caliphate."
He also conveyed his best wishes to "true believers and not those that practice democracy; not those who believe in [a] constitution; not those who believe in western education."
Notably, however, the Boko Haram leader did not say anything about Israel's week-long air offensive against the Gaza Strip, in which at least 175 Palestinians – mostly civilians – have been killed.
Abducted girls
The Boko Haram leader also asserted that he would not free scores of schoolgirls – abducted by the group earlier this year – until the government pledged to release a number of his jailed militants.
"Nigerians are saying 'Bring back our girls' and we are telling [President Goodluck] Jonathan to bring back our arrested warriors, our army," Shekau said.
On April 14, Boko Haram militants abducted 276 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in Borno State, according to official figures.
Shekau later claimed responsibility for the abductions, offering to trade the girls for some of his fighters held by the authorities.
The Boko Haram kingpin also claimed responsibility for a series of recent bombings in Abuja, Kano, Plateau and Lagos.
He also claimed responsibility for an attack on a military camp in Konduga in restive Borno State.
"We were the ones that sent a female bomber to the refinery in Lagos, but Adam Oshiomhole, the governor of Edo, said it was a fire disaster," Shekau reportedly said.
His mention of Oshiomhole, who governs a state several hundred kilometers from Lagos, served to reveal Shekau's ignorance, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.
The same applied to Shekau's reference to a refinery that does not exist in Lagos, said the reporter.
Nigeria only has refineries in the Rivers, Delta and Kaduna states, all of which are located far from Lagos.
Nigerian authorities have yet to issue any official reaction to the latest video.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden" in Nigeria's local Hausa language, first emerged in the early 2000s preaching against government misrule and corruption.
The group later became violent, however, after the death of its leader in 2009 while in police custody.
In the five years since, the shadowy sect has been blamed for numerous attacks – on places of worship and government institutions – and thousands of deaths.
By Rafiu Ajakaye
www.aa.com.tr/en
