Boko Haram Using Chibok Girls As Shekau’s Shield’

Chibok School Girls

Troops have not carried out aerial bombardment of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau’s hideout because the sect is using the Chibok girls as shield, it was learnt yesterday.

We Know Abubakar Shekau’s Hideout – Chadian President.

Shekau (His Latest Video)

Chadian president, Idriss Deby, has said that he knew where the outlawed Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, was hiding and vowed to hunt him out, Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) monitored in Abuja, yesterday, reports.

Boko Haram's Shifting Media Propaganda: Is Sect Poised For A Wider Conflict?

Shekau (In His Latest Video)

From grainy, amateurish footage and rambling, almost inaudible speeches to slick, expertly edited productions, Boko Haram's media strategy has undergone a transformation in recent months. The Nigerian militants this week published two videos that contrasted starkly with earlier efforts, using visual cues and a style resembling similar messages from the Islamic State jihadists.

Boko Haram Leader - Shekau Releases New Video, Vows To Disrupt Nigeria Election

Shekau (Centre)

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed to disrupt Nigeria’s general election in a new video released Tuesday, after two suicide attacks in the northeast blamed on the Islamists killed 38 people.

“This election will not be held even if we are dead. Even if we are not alive Allah will never allow you to do it,” Shekau said in the Hausa language, presumably referring to the polls scheduled for March 28.

Boko Haram Camps Will Be 'Taken Out' In Six Weeks, Says NSA; Shekau Responds In A New Video, Vows To Defeat Regional Force

NIGERIA on Monday vowed to crush Boko Haram within six weeks as its leader warned a new regional fighting force "will not achieve anything" and the rebels launched a fresh cross-border attack.

National Security Advisor Sambo Dasuki, who this weekend secured a delay to Nigeria's presidential elections, said "all known Boko Haram camps will be taken out" by the time of the rescheduled vote.

Pandemonium in Maiduguri As Boko Haram Launches A Daring Attack In Bid To Take Over State Capital

Soldiers of the Nigerian army and Boko Haram terrorists are currently engaged in a fierce exchange of fire since Saturday night as insurgents, in their hundreds, attempt to invade Maiduguri, the Borno state capital,  security sources have told PREMIUM TIMES.

The Logic Behind Boko Haram’s Brutal Attacks in Nigeria - Alex Thurston

The first weeks of 2015 have already brought repeated, shocking attacks by Boko Haram in and around Nigeria. Within the country’s northeastern state of Borno, the home turf of the proselytizing sect-turned-Islamist-group, militants massacred hundreds of civilians in Baga, site of a multinational military base.

Boko Haram Leader - Shekau Brands Nigerian Soldiers Cowards, Declares Buhari, Jonathan Infidels

Leader of the Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau has released a disturbing video in which he was seen burning Nigerian flags even as he displayed cache of arms and ammunition seized from the Nigeria Army in Baga, Borno State.

Boko Haram Releases New Video On Captured Towns, Shekau Seen Preaching To Locals

Boko Haram terrorists released a new video this evening showing footage on how the sect is presently controlling towns and villages under its new ‘Islamic caliphate’.

Credibility Crisis, Confusion Over BokoHaram’s Ceasefire Denial

NIGERIA’S global credibility has taken a big dip following its poor handling of the ceasefire deal with the Boko Haram, insurgents. The fighters have denied any kind of talks with the Federal Government for the release of the Chibok girls and an eventual ceasefire soon.

Boko Haram's Leader - 'Shekau' Appears In New Video, Denies Ceasefire Claim

Boko Haram has denied claims by Nigeria's government that it has agreed to a ceasefire and will release more than 200 abducted schoolgirls.

'Ceasefire Agreement' Splits Boko Haram Into Two Groups

Sequel to the purported ceasefire deal the Federal Government entered into with Boko Haram, the violent fundamentalist sect has split into two. While one faction wants peace, the other doesn’t.

Nigeria Reaches 'Ceasefire Agreement' With Boko Haram

Nigeria's military says it has agreed a truce with Islamist militant group Boko Haram and the schoolgirls it has abducted will be released.

The Boko Haram Insurgency, By TheNumbers - The Washington Post

The abduction in April of nearly 300 schoolgirls from Chibok, a northeastern Nigerian village, by fighters of the extremist group Boko Haram received wide attention from social media campaigners and the news media.

Boko Haram Releases Video Purportedly Showing Beheading of Missing Nigerian Air Force Pilot

Boko Haram sect in a new video released Friday claimed responsibility for the downing of the Nigerian Air Force jet which was declared missing on September 11 by the military authorities while on official duties in Adamawa State.

Boko Haram Leader Abubakar ShekauAppears In New Video, Says He Is Alive

Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Islamist militant group Boko Haram, has appeared in a new propaganda video dismissing claims of his killing by the Nigerian military.

Boko Haram’s ‘Computer/Social Media Expert’ Arrested, Opens Up On Links With You-Tube

Sequel to recent heavy loses by Boko Haram terrorists who launched another attack on Konduga in a bid to reclaim the dead body of the impostor of Abubakar Shekau, (Mohammed Bashir), the military has arrested a foreign computer expert who is said to be behind the several video shots sent to online media organization and foreign media houses.

Surrendered, Disarmed Boko Haram Insurgents To Be Rehabilitated

The Nigerian Government has revealed that those insurgents, who surrendered their weapons to the Nigerian troops, will be rehabilitated back to the society.

'Prisoner Swap Deal': List of Detained Boko Haram Insurgents That The Sect Wants Swapped for Abducted Chibok Girls

The failed high level negotiations between Boko Haram leaders and the Nigerian government team, led by a former Minister of Information, Edwin Clark, would have seen the country swapping 16 detained terrorists for 220 Chibok girls, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report.

Ahmed Salkida, Nigerian Journalist Trusted By Boko Haram Insists Abubakar Shekau Is “Alive And Well”

Ahmed Salkida, a Dubai-based Nigerian journalist who reportedly maintains communication with some leaders of the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram, claimes that the sect’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, is alive and well. Mr. Salkida denied reports asserting that Nigerian troops had killed the mercurial and fiendish Shekau, the speaker and voice in numerous videos released by Boko Haram.

Ahmed Salkida, in a tweet also dismissed media reports that the Nigerian government was negotiating with Boko Haram for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in mid-April by Boko Haram militants in Chibok, Borno State. The reporter’s tweet also described as untrue reports that the International Red Cross (IRC) was working on a deal that would persuade Boko Haram to free the abducted Chibok schoolgirls in exchange for the release of detained Islamist insurgents in the custody of Nigerian security agencies.

SaharaReporters had earlier published a report to the effect that a Nigerian intelligence source revealed that the person whose dead body is seen in photos circulating in news reports was not Shekau but one “Mohammed Bashir”.

An ntelligence source stated that the dead Islamist figure, who bore a striking semblance to Mr. Shekau, was indeed a look-alike who appeared in videos released by the Islamist sect.

Mr. Salkida’s tweet appeared to confirm that the Boko Haram “officer” killed by Nigerian soldiers in Konduga was a different person from Mr. Shekau. In fact, Nigerian security officials have maintained for months that Mr. Shekau was dead, apparently killed by his own disaffected lieutenants in an internal rivalry for control of the terrorist organization.

However, Salkida sent out another tweet today which appeared to cast doubt on the fact that Shekau indeed had a double.

A confidential debriefing document by the Nigerian army obtained last week also acknowledged that Mr. Shekau stayed permanently in his holdout in Sambisa Forest and was not in the habit of venturing out to battles. Item “R” of the document stated, ”Shekau has his wife and 2 children in Sambisa Forest. He is Kanuri, he speaks Hausa and he does not travel.”

Meanwhile, a Nigerian security source told SaharaReporters that there was evidence of a growing frustration among insurgent fighters and a simmering power struggle between some of the sect’s top figures. He disclosed that some of the insurgents who surrendered to Nigerian troops last week in Konduga have told army interrogators that they decided to give up after their commander executed two of their leaders who led the failed attack on Konduga. The source told SaharaReporters that the insurgents, who are being kept in one of the barracks in Maiduguri, told interrogators that they fled from a camp near Bama after their commander shot dead two insurgent field officers “for losing valuable weapons to infidels.” He added that the surrendering militants claimed they were reluctant and small-time fighters who were recently recruited from towns and villagers taken by Boko Haram.

The insurgents’ foiled attempt to seize Konduga, which was a first step in their plan to attack the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, is being seen as a possible turning point in the war between the insurgents and increasingly confident Nigerian soldiers. Nigerian troops killed hundreds of insurgents in the battle for Konduga and also seized an armored tank and several vehicles from the Boko Haram fighters. Incidentally, Boko Haram insurgents had originally captured the tank and vehicles from the Nigerian army in previous battles.

For close to two weeks, the insurgents have not been able to reproduce their earlier streak of victories over Nigerian troops. Instead, they have been routed in Konduga and driven out of Baza in Adamawa State.

  - SR