Abubakar Shekau, the terrorist behind the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls four months ago, claims the town of Gwoza in Borno State, which was seized by the rebels earlier this month, now has 'nothing to do with Nigeria'. The leader of the militants made the statement during a 52-minute video which shows a group of prisoners being shot with assault rifles while lying in a ditch. He added that the extremists, who have terrorised villages across northern Nigeria, say they will not be leaving the town 'by the grace of Allah'.
Boko Haram's leader has declared an Islamic caliphate in a northeast Nigeria town seized by the extremist militants earlier this month.
Abubakar Shekau, the terrorist behind the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls four months ago, made the statement during a video which shows a group of prisoners being shot with assault rifles as they lie in a ditch.
He declared that Gwoza, in Borno State, now has 'nothing to do with Nigeria' and said 'by the grace of Allah' they will not be leaving the town.
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Abubakar Shekau, the terrorist behind the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls four months ago, said the town of Gwoza now has 'nothing to do with Nigeria' while declaring a caliphate in the north of the country
The rebel leader of Boko Haram made the statement during a horrifying video which shows soldiers shooting a group of prisoners on the floor
'Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate,' he claims during the 52-minute video.
'By the grace of Allah we will not leave the town. We have come to stay,' said Shekau, who has been designated a global terrorist by the United States and sanctioned by the UN Security Council.
The United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) earlier this month confirmed reports that Gwoza was under rebel control.
Boko Haram is also believed to be in control of other areas near the seized town in southern Borno, as well as large swathes of territory in the north of the region and at least one town in neighbouring Yobe state.
Mapping the precise areas which have fallen into Islamist hands is nearly impossible.
The footage shows them lying helplessly in a ditch before the assault rifles are aimed at their heads
There are few humanitarian workers on the ground in the northeast, travel is dangerous and the region, which has been under a state of emergency since May of last year, has poor mobile phone coverage.
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.
But many analysts believe the military has the capacity to reverse the insurgents' advance.
Soldiers this week refused to deploy to Gwoza without better weapons in an apparent mutiny.
Shekau, who has been branded a global terrorist by the United States, stands alongside two masked rebels as he reads the declaration from a script
During the 52-minute video, the camera pans to a heavy duty machine gun installed on the back of a truck
A rebel is also shown riding around on the back of the vehicle as it travels through fields outside Gwoza - a month after it was captured by members of Boko Haram
Via - Dailymail.
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