With the renewed bomb attacks happening in the Borno State capital, maiduguri, Boko Haram insurgents on Tuesday, June 2, 2015 released a video claiming that it was still in control of swaths of land in the North Eastern part of the country, including its Sambisa Forest stronghold.
The 10-minute video, which was published online did not feature its notorious leader, Abubakar Shekau, with many saying he might have been killed either by the Nigerian military in one of their numerous raids of by mutinous sect members.
The video, which bore the logo “Islamic State in West Africa” – a reminder of the group’s allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group – showed an unidentified man in front of two pick-up trucks, donning a headscarf with an AK-47 rifle resting on his chest.
He said: “Most of our territory is still under our control. The armies claim through the media that they captured our towns and that they assaulted Sambisa (forest) and defeated us.
“I swear by Allah that I am talking right now from Sambisa. Here in Sambisa you can travel more than four to five hours under the black flag of Islam by car or by motorbike.
“We are uncountable in Sambisa.”
