FG And Boko Haram Battle For Gwoza, Shekau Declares It 'Islamic Caliphate'

Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram sect,  has proclaimed  Gwoza town that was seized by his men last Thursday as an Islamic caliphate.

Shekau announced the declaration that Gwoza had become an Islamic caliphate in a video obtained by the Agence France-Press on Sunday.

The terrorist also vowed that his group would not leave the town.

“Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in the town of Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate. By the grace of Allah, we will not leave the town. We have come to stay,” Shekau said in the 52-minute video. Read  excerpts from the speech below:

"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 vigilantes called civilian JTF to back off; if not, there will be no place for them to hide. We have evidence of how you killed some of our brethren whom you would ask if they were Boko Haram members before you killed them. 

We know 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. If we pity you and spare you, one day you will become infidels. 

So, to us, having pity on you is an act of disbelief. You can continue to run or hide your identities in women’s attire, but we will get to you and remove the women’s clothing off of you. Then, while you are shouting for mercy, we will strike, smash your heads and kill you all. Even if you don't do anything to us we will kill you...We would do it even to avenge our brethren. You killed our brethren in large numbers.

"We don't joke with religion (quoting from the Koran). There is no hypocrisy in this religion. It is only the truth.

"We are not proud of our strength, nor with our weapons nor with anything we have but we are only proud of victory from Allah the exalted. Victory is only from God. Who is America in the sight of Allah? Who is America in the sight of Allah? Who is Israel in the sight of Allah? Who is France in the sight of Allah?”

The AFP report however said it was not clear if Shekau was declaring himself to be a part of Baghdadi’s call or if he was referring to a separate Nigerian caliphate.

There was no indication that Shekau was actually in Gwoza for the filming and his whereabouts remained unknown but he vowed that his fighters would keep control of the area.

The United Nations humanitarian office had earlier in the month confirmed reports that Gwoza was under rebel control.

Boko Haram is also believed to be in control of other areas near Gwoza in southern Borno, as well as large swathes of territory in northern Borno and at least one town in neighbouring Yobe State.

Experts have described Boko Haram’s gains in recent weeks as unprecedented, saying the group was closer than ever to achieving its goal of carving out a strict Islamic state across northern Nigeria.

A major military offensive at the onset of the emergency rule in May last year appeared to put the militants on the defensive, flushing them out of their strongholds.

But critics say top brass failed to sustain the pressure and allowed the Islamists to retake some of the areas they had abandoned.

In an apparent mutiny, some troops rejected deployment in Gwoza last week because of lack of adequate weapons.

After Shekau’s speech and in demonstrating their being in control of Gwoza, insurgents were seen, in the video, atop pick-up trucks firing rocket-propelled grenades and other heavily armed insurgents firing weapons as they walk calmly along the road.

The footage appears to show them taking over a military base, stealing weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition as well as fuel cans.

In one frame, a fighter stands on top of a tank, waving the Islamists’ black flag.

The AFP reports that the end of the video depicted scenes of grisly executions, similar to those released by IS in recent weeks.

In one scene, about 20 men in civilian clothing are shown with their hands tied behind their backs and lying by the roadside before they are shot at close range.

A second scene shows two men, whom Shekau said disguised themselves as women to escape the town, beaten to death with shovels. Two others similarly dressed are shot beside what appears to be a trench full of bodies.

The military authorities meanwhile have debunked the claim by Shekau that he had declared Gwoza the seat of a new caliphate in the North-East. Tweets Below: