Acting Director of defense information of the Nigerian Defense Headquarters, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, has dismissed the threat by Boko Haram insurgents to capture President Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as a joke.
Reacting to a 13-minute-long Boko Haram video posted online, in which a leader of the insurgent group threatens to kill or capture President Buhari, by calling it a sign of weakness, Abubakar said Boko Haram has been so severely weakened by a concentrated assault by the Nigerian military and police that the Internet is the only place it has any strength.
“The only place they have an agenda for now is the social media. The only ground the Boko Haram can go to hide and pretend to be alive is the social media because it is everybody’s home. “The so-called video is an attempt by the remnants to remind us that there were once some Boko Haram elements. The issue of the threat to capture PMB is a complete joke and a dream of the century.
“Therefore, the entire clip should be ignored as everybody is appreciative of our feat against Boko Haram. It is not just an empty threat; it is a threat that has no substance at all. It is a senseless threat from their imagination. Nigeria should simply ignore it.”
The video depicts Boko Haram forces in a prayer for the Eid-al-Adha holiday, and an unidentified leader addressing them in Hausa and in Arabic. He identifies himself as a follower of leader Abubakar Shekau, believed by the Nigerian military to have been killed; Shekau does not appear in the video.
“This is a message to the leader of the infidels Buhari, who says he will crush us. Infidels before him made similar threats, Buhari who says he will crush us; in sha Allah [by the grace of Allah] he will only die. By the grace of Allah, under the leadership of the leader of this movement our imam, we will capture Buhari hand to hand…we will deal with all our enemies, we are prepared at all times. Just as you all love life, so do we love death. This time around, no retreat, no surrender, in sha Allah. We shall be granted victory over you all,” the leader said. [myad]
