An 18-minute video showing a recent Boko Haram attack on a joint police/military convoy in the northeastern town of Maiduguri has been released by the terrorist group.
At the start of the video, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau speaks for about 10 minutes — holding a chewing stick (miswak) instead of a microphone — and takes credit for the June 20th attack that caught the convoy of security operatives off guard and embarrassed Nigerian authorities.
Nigerian authorities say at least two persons were killed and several police officers abducted in last Tuesday’s attack on a military/police convoy along the Maiduguri-Damboa highway.
The footage, however, only shows still images of the abducted policewomen — about 10 in number — who Shekau refers to as “slaves.”
“I want to tell you that we are the one that attacked the convoy. Here are the vehicles for all to witness. We are the ones that abducted the female police officers, in fact, they are senior female police officers,” Shekau says.
“What we did is nothing when compared to our women, children, and friends that have been wiped out or arrested for many years by the Nigerian government. We only abducted them to serve as slaves to us.”
The elusive Shekau, who has a $7 million bounty placed on his head by U.S. authorities, also slammed Nigerian security officials for lying that Boko Haram has been defeated.
Shekau had harsh words for religious clerics who are working to foster interreligious cooperation among various faiths and condemned moderate Islamic clerics who allow Christians to converge in mosques and visit churches.
“No prophet has ever practiced this,” Shekau declares.
According to New York-based SaharaReporters, the video was released through controversial Nigerian freelance journalist Ahmad Salkida.
The rest of the footage contains graphic content similar to previous Boko Haram propaganda videos, including dead bodies and a set of victims perhaps about to be beheaded by the insurgents.
