The leader of the Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has said that his men abducted over 300 students of the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara local government area of Katsina State to discourage Western education in Nigeria, as well as to promote Islam.

In an audio message he posted on SoundCloud today, December 15, Shekau said that the “government was not teaching the pupils what Allah and his Holy Prophet Muhammed commanded,” and that they will continue to abduct students in different schools to show their condemnation of Western education.

Shekau added that “un-Islamic practices such as Western education” in the country must be abolished as that has been one of the cardinal campaigns against the Nigerian government.

“What happened in Katsina was done to promote Islam and discourage un-Islamic practices as Western education is not the type of education permitted by Allah and his Holy Prophet Muhammed,” the terrorist leader said in the audio message.

“The government is promoting Western education and they are also not teaching what Allah and his Holy Prophet commanded. They are rather destroying Islam. It may be subtle, but Allah, the Lord of the skies and earth, knows whatever is hidden. May Allah promote Islam. May we die as Muslims. In a nutshell, we are behind what happened in Katsina.”

On Friday, December 11, gunmen had stormed the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara local government area of Katsina State on motorcycles, shooting sporadically and abducted the students in their hostels.

Though there have been conflicting figures in respect of the actual number of students taken away by the kidnappers, the state Governor, Aminu Bello Masari said about 333 students were kidnapped, but the Presidency through Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, countered the number, insisting that only 10 students were abducted.

The Sultan of Sokoto and co-Chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar has called on the military to occupy Lake Chad region and Sambisa forest in their bid to subdue Boko Haram.

Sultan Abuabakar is not comfortable with the idea of allowing terrorists occupying those strategic places.

He spoke while leading his fellow traditional rulers from the Southwest and Northern parts of the country on a condolence visit to the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, following recent Boko Haram killings in the state.

The Sultan led Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemaka Alfred Ugochukwu, Oba Adekunle Adebayo, Ore of Otin, Emir of Hadeja, Dr. Adamu Abubakar Maje, Emir of Fika, Mohammed Abale Ibn Mohammed Idrissa, Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom, KING Dr. Dandasen Douglas Jaja on the visit.

The Sultan, who retired as Army General, recalled how his battalion occupied Lake Chad region for six months, saying: “I read about the comment the Governor made some few weeks ago, challenging the military to take the fight to Lake Chad to clear that place.

“Your Excellency, while I was a Lieutenant, I was at Lake Chad in Baga for six months, my battalion in Bama used to rotate with the battalion in Monguno and Maiduguri every six months. We occupied lake Chad, part of Nigeria for six months.

“I was a Lieutenant, I was the operation officer and I have my maps. In Lake Chad that time we had 36 islands under Nigeria, we occupied 16 of them, the biggest was king Nasara, we controlled that part of Nigeria effectively well as a battalion.

“Now I don’t know why we can’t occupy the whole of Lake Chad and why we can’t occupy the whole of Sambisa forest. If we want peace we have to dominate these areas. If we want peace, we have to do away with those terrorists who occupy that place and see nothing good in other people except those that believe in their own negative ideas.”

A 49-year-old evangelist, Chinwe Ekwe, has responded to her husband who alleged that she wanted to kill him by asking: “What do I stand to gain if I kill the father of my seven children

Chinwe, who appeared at a Customary Court in Igando, Lagos State in response to a divorce suit filed by her husband, Pastor Paul Ekwe, who had accused her of planning to kill him.

“I care for him both physical and spiritual, but he still chose to be flirting around with different women.

“He even brought a married woman home as a wife and chased me out of our matrimonial home.”

Chinwe alleged that her husband was defaming her character by telling people that she was planning to kill him, asking: “what do I stand to gain if I kill the father of my seven children; he is lying against me just because he wanted to marry another woman which he had done.

“My husband is uncaring, I shouldered all his responsibilities but he spends money and buys foodstuffs for his concubines.”

Chinwe told the court that her husband got the police to arrest her and that she destroyed his church and stole his five million naira.

She begged the court not to grant her husband’s wish for the dissolution of their marriage, pointing out that she still loved him despite his adulterous acts.

However, Ekwe has approached the court to terminate the 28-year-old marriage, accusing the wife of planning to kill him.

“My wife is planning to kill me so that she can remarry,” he said.

The petitioner described his wife as stubborn and quarrelsome.

“Our marriage is full of fights and quarrels. Chinwe makes my home uncomfortable for me and my life unbearable.

“She refused to obey my orders but does things her own way,” he said.

He accused her of turning all their children against him, alleging that she gave one out in marriage without his knowledge.

He pleaded with the court to terminate their marriage that the love he once had for his wife had vanished.

The Court President, Adeniyi Koledoye, adjourned the case to January 19 for judgment.