Leader of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has re-designated Gwoza town that was seized by his men last Thursday as an Islamic caliphate.
The military authorities in a swift reaction have debunked the claim by Shekau that he had declared Gwoza the seat of a new caliphate in the North-East.
But Shekau announced the declaration that Gwoza had become an Islamic caliphate in a video obtained by the Agence France-Press on Sunday.
The terrorist also vowed that his group would not leave the town.
“Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in the town of Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate. By the grace of Allah, we will not leave the town. We have come to stay,” Shekau said in the 52-minute video.
In a July video, Shekau had voiced support for the leader of the Islamic State militants, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who in late June declared himself “the caliph” and “leader of Muslims everywhere.”
The AFP report however said it was not clear if Shekau was declaring himself to be a part of Baghdadi’s call or if he was referring to a separate Nigerian caliphate.
In the 19th century, a Sokoto caliphate was proclaimed across most of the modern day northern Nigeria and was considered separate from other Islamic kingdoms, such as the Ottoman Empire.
There was no indication that Shekau was actually in Gwoza for the filming and his whereabouts remained unknown but he vowed that his fighters would keep control of the area.
The United Nations humanitarian office had earlier in the month confirmed reports that Gwoza was under rebel control.
Boko Haram is also believed to be in control of other areas near Gwoza in southern Borno, as well as large swathes of territory in northern Borno and at least one town in neighbouring Yobe State.
Experts have described Boko Haram’s gains in recent weeks as unprecedented, saying the group was closer than ever to achieving its goal of carving out a strict Islamic state across northern Nigeria.
A major military offensive at the onset of the emergency rule in May last year appeared to put the militants on the defensive, flushing them out of their strongholds.
But critics say top brass failed to sustain the pressure and allowed the Islamists to retake some of the areas they had abandoned.
In an apparent mutiny, some troops rejected deployment in Gwoza last week because of lack of adequate weapons.
After Shekau’s speech and in demonstrating their being in control of Gwoza, insurgents were seen, in the video, atop pick-up trucks firing rocket-propelled grenades and other heavily armed insurgents firing weapons as they walk calmly along the road.
The footage appears to show them taking over a military base, stealing weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition as well as fuel cans.
In one frame, a fighter stands on top of a tank, waving the Islamists’ black flag.
The AFP reports that the end of the video depicted scenes of grisly executions, similar to those released by IS in recent weeks.
In one scene, about 20 men in civilian clothing are shown with their hands tied behind their backs and lying by the roadside before they are shot at close range.
A second scene shows two men, whom Shekau said disguised themselves as women to escape the town, beaten to death with shovels. Two others similarly dressed are shot beside what appears to be a trench full of bodies.
Meanwhile, the military authorities have debunked the claim by Shekau that he had declared Gwoza the seat of a new caliphate in the North-East.
The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade, said in the Defence Headquarters Twitter handle twitter.com/DefenceInfoNG that the military would not allow any part of the country to be ceded to the insurgents.
Olukolade described the declaration by Shekau as empty, insisting that the territorial integrity of Nigeria was intact.
He said that a military operation to retake Gwoza was underway.
He said, “The claim is empty. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Nigerian state is still intact.
“Any group of terrorists laying claim to any portion of the country will not be allowed to get away with the expression of delusion and crime.
“Appropriate military operations to secure that area from the activities of the bandits are still ongoing.”
I still think Bornu needs more security personnel compared to what was deployed to Ekiti and lately Osun. Can we said to be winning the war when our priorities are not set right?