Buhari, army are liars, says Shekau

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, has rubbished the claim by the Nigeria Army that the group has been decimated in recent days saying the group was ‘alive’ and strong.

He added that contrary to the information going round, that the army is having upper hand on the battle fields, his men are actually in control and that the Nigerian troops always run ‘helter-skelter’ whenever they come into confrontation with them.

The sect leader, who spoke in a 25-minute recording in Hausa and Arabic via social media, also claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari was not given Nigerians the true picture of the reality on the ground about his group’s capability.

“They (the military) lied that they have confiscated our arms, that we have been chased out of our territories; that we are in disarray.

“We are alive, I am alive, this is my voice, more audible than it was before. This is Shekau.

“Buhari is a liar and has deceived you. The army spokesman is also lying. He and his foot soldiers always run helter-skelter whenever we come face to face with them…

“Buhari, you once claimed that you will crush us in three months. How can you crush us?”, he said in the recording.

Shekau has not been seen on video since February and until an audio message last month had not spoken since March when he proclaimed Boko Haram’s allegiance to the dreaded Islamic State (IS) group that operates in the Middle-East.

There was even conflicting information about his existence as he was said to have either been killed or deposed as the leader of the group.

Who is Shekau? This has always been the question asked by many people as that name appears to be the titular title of whoever assumes the headship of the Boko Haram sect.

Despite the claim of the sect leader, the Nigerian Army had asserted that it was winning the war.

Read also: Troops overrun 4 more Boko Haram camps

It said on Saturday that it has destroyed more enclaves and camps of the insurgents in Borno State.

The Army spokesman Col. Sani Usman stated that the fight against the insurgents was gaining momentum and the rebels were being routed.

“The fight against the terrorists in the northeast is gaining successful momentum, with most of the camps falling to the Federal might,” he said in a statement.

He added that “a total of 62 people were rescued from around the town of Gwoza, which last year Boko Haram declared the headquarters of its caliphate but which it lost control of in March.

“Some 77 men, women and children, most of them ‘haggard, dejected and obviously malnourished’, also arrived in the town of Bama on Saturday.

“One man picked up said he had his right hand cut off by militants in their Sambisa Forest stronghold in Borno last year and eight Boko Haram suspects surrendered to troops”.

On Friday, the military said it rescued 90 people and dislodged Boko Haram from two villages near Gwoza.

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