Boko Haram declares Gwoza new caliphate

• Borno gov calls for calm
•35 cops still missing after attack –Police

A man who appeared like Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram insur­gents in a new video released yesterday, boasted that the sect has established an Is­lamic caliphate in Gwoza town, southeast of Borno State, saying the village has ceased to be part of Nigeria.

“Thanks be to Allah, who gave us victory to attack Abu­ja and in Yobe town, called Damaturu. We still thank God for the successful bombing of Damboa and other parts of Ni­geria. We are grateful to Allah for the big victory he granted our members in Gwoza and made the town part of our Islamic caliphate,” he said in his characteristic unstable presentation. He also lashed at western nations for supporting Nigeria to fight insurgency.

He suggested the terrorists’ rejection of the Nigerian na­tion, saying: “We are in Islam­ic caliphate. We have nothing to do with Nigeria. We don’t believe in this name.” He vowed to continue attacks to increase their quest for more control.

He said Boko Haram re­leased the video to make clarification about its recent attacks, adding that the insur­gents carried out most of the recent attacks including Dam­boa, Gwoza and other com­munities in Borno and Yobe states. He said the sect also killed some of their members, who he described as infidels. “Oh people, I’m making this speech because of the lies be­ing spread always by the gov­ernment,” he stated.

Shekau expressed his anger against the youth volunteers popularly called Civilian JTF, for allegedly apprehending and killing Boko Haram mem­bers. “Have you forgotten what you did to our brethren? You were even asking, ‘are you Boko Haram; have you ever carried a gun? This was how you killed our members,” he said, threatening to avenge the alleged killing. Excerpts of the transcribed version from the video as reproduced here.

“I chose to deliver this mes­sage in order to refute the lies being spread by the govern­ment, about the operations we had in recent times.

“We warn the vigilante, called Civilian JTF to back out; if not, there will be no place for them to hide. We have evidences of how you killed some of our brethren whom you would ask if they are Boko Haram before you killed them; we knew how you humiliated them by ask­ing them if they had ever car­ried guns or killed someone…we know everything about the evil you committed against our brethren.

“We still have the magna­nimity of asking you to repent because you will never suc­ceed in this way by the grace of Allah; and I swear by Allah that we will never stop killing you, because Allah command­ed us to kill people like you.”

Meanwhile, Borno State Governor, Kassim Shettima yesterday urged residents to remain calm, be prayerful and support security agencies in the war against insurgency.

In a statement he person­ally signed, Shettima stated: “With very due respect, I can­not comment on the authentic­ity or otherwise of that video in question. “I will leave that to security experts. I also can­not disclose measures being adopted by security agencies on whatever development in Gwoza or any part of Borno State, but I can assure the good people of Borno State and other members of the pub­lic that the state government is actively in touch and support­ing security agencies deployed to Borno State in the counter-insurgency efforts and Insha Allah, the combined efforts will not be in vain.

“We are not just studying the situation with collabora­tive tact and insurgency but indeed, appropriate measures are being taken by the right authorities. For now, I urge the good people of Borno State to remain calm and resolute in their support for security agencies. The security agen­cies, I am sure, are in position to analyse the content of the said new video, compare with the facts on ground in Gwoza and brief the Nigerian public as they deem professionally appropriate bearing in mind the national interest and pa­triotism as well as the overall safety of citizens.”

The governor appealed to the media not to dramatise and sensationalise issues such as the one connected with Gwo­za, “so that we all do not fall for the objective of insurgents, which is to at all times, claim victory over our sovereign state, our rights to existence, our freedom and our liberty, as it is always their goal to cre­ate so much panic that would make anyone who doesn’t share their ideology feel un­safe and defeated.”

Meanwhile, following Boko Haram take over of a police academy in Gwoza last week, 35 policemen are still missing, the police said yes­terday.