Boko Haram militants yesterday released a new video with the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, again failing to appear in it, fuelling suspicion that a new leader may have emerged for the terror group.
In the eight-minute video, an unidentified young man speaks in the name of the Islamic State in West Africa calling on people to be patient: “We are still present everywhere we had been before,” he said.
The video shows the militants attacking a security checkpoint, seizing weapons, and slitting the throat of a man dressed in a police uniform, BBC reported.
The young militant spoke in Hausa, with an accent from the Kanuri ethnic group. It had subtitles in Arabic and English, according to BBC.
Shekau is a Kanuri, but his continued absence has increased speculation about his fate. Analysts say the new video shows members of the group are still determined to fight on even without their leader.
There had been speculations that Shekau is either deep in hiding, or has been wounded and even killed. Shekau also failed to appear in a Boko Haram video released in June.
He was last heard from in March, when he released an audio message pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group. Soon thereafter, the military said it had recaptured all towns and cities from Boko Haram.
The military said on Sunday that it had freed 178 people held captive by the insurgents in northeastern Borno State.
It had also killed militants and captured a commander following airstrikes on the group’s bases, it added.
Shekau became Boko Haram leader following the killing of the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, in police custody in 2009. Previous reports about his death proved to be untrue.
He sparked global outrage when Boko Haram abducted more than 200 girls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in April, 2014.
