BOKO HARAM LEADER, SHEKAU APPEARS SUBDUED IN NEW VIDEO; ARMY WARNS NIGERIANS TO STAY ALERT

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau reappeared in a new video on Thursday more than a year since he was last seen in a video.
Instead of his usual defiant self who would taunt and denunciate the political leaders, rather what was seen in the video was a  subdued Shekau who in a seven minute message debunked rumours about his death but declared that, "for me the end has come".

Shekau said,
"This is a message of greeting and joy for you to see my face"

"This is my desire; that whoever sees this will hear nothing but greetings between me and you. Only Allah knows the rest, as you believed (and) as you submitted. For me the end has come".

"This is only the message I want to send to you for you to understand that this is certainly I. This is why I did this" Shekau said in Hausa language as part of his seven minute message.

The video is suspect as it didnot reflect the well-edited recordings from the Islamic sect which were released between 2014 and start of 2015 but was poorly shot showing a thin-looking Shekau with a rifle resting on his left shoulder sporting military fatigue.

In the video posted on YouTube Shekau speaks to his followers in a lime green background with the black flag superimposed in crude graphics.

The Defence Headquarters following the release of the video  has warned Nigerians to ignore the video and be on alert. The Nigerian military will continue its offensive against the insurgents.

The miltary meanwhile is subjecting the new video to forensic examinations in order to confirm its authenticity.

According to a statement issued by the Director of Defence Information, Brig. General Rabe Abubakar, the Defence Headquarters warns Nigerians not to be carried away by the video and stay extra vigilant as well as be security conscious at all times during the Easter celebrations.

"The said video clips should therefore be discountenanced as it could be another ploy or antics of the terrorists to keep our innocent citizens off their current security alertness to maximise casualties if attacked. The Nigerian Armed Forces are now determined more than ever before to end this ugly trend",  Brig. General Rabe Abubakar said as part of his statement.