Shekau Proposes Swap Deal to Free Chibok Girls

Daji Sani in Yola and John Shiklam in Kaduna

The leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau, has given condition for the release of the remaining Chibok schoolgirls in captivity.

In a video the Boko Haram leader released thursday, a day after President Muhammadu Buhari visited Borno State, he said the schoolgirls would be freed if the federal government should release the sect members in detention.
THISDAY could not confirm when or where the group recorded the video.

Shekau also asked Buhari not to return to Borno, saying the sect is fully on the ground in the North-east.
He stated that the insurgents would attack the president if he returns to Borno.

Boko Haram had launched an attack on Maiduguri, few hours after Buhari paid a condolence visit to the state over the Sunday night killing of 30 persons in Auno, a community near Maiduguri.

“Buhari came to Maiduguri pretending to be a good man but he is not. He shouldn’t try to return to Maiduguri again,” Shekau said in Hausa in the video.

“Buhari, fear your creator. God said you don’t have up to a spider’s web. But you think you are a Major General. l swear, you are nothing… Buhari, I am talking to you, you’ll know no peace. Don’t come back to Maiduguri.

“Just go and sit down and think over my comments. And if you think I am the one disrupting your affairs, honestly I am not. You have deceived the people by telling them you are a just leader; carry on!”

Shekau, who also attacked the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, in the army chief’s native language, said: “You are just like spider before God. We are dependent on the Quran and abide by Allah (God). Buhari, l am talking to you. Sit down and think about what l said. Don’t think this Shekau is the one that is behind the insecurity or frustrating the security of the nation but Allah is responsible.”

He also mocked followers of Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, who is the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and the Tijjaniyya sect led by Dahiru Bauchi.

Shekau added that the people of Kano and Kaduna are in trouble.

“Kano people, you are now in trouble since you breached the teaching of Usman Danfodio. Kaduna people, El-ZakZaky, Shiite sects, Tijjaniya and Kadiriaya should stop abusing Boko Haram,” he added.

On Chibok girls, he said: “Those who are shouting Bring Back Our Girls, Bring Back Our Girls, the only way to have those girls back is for our men in prison to be released.

“Bring back our members and we will bring back Chibok girls. I don’t know how to speak English but you understand what l meant,” he said.

More than 100 of the 276 girls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, in 2014, have remained in Boko Haram custody.

The Boko Haram leader also tackled Buratai for saying the insurgents have been defeated.

Buratai had told THISDAY and its sister broadcast arm, ARISE News Channel, that the military had won the war against insurgency as the Boko Haram militants no longer control any territory in Nigeria.

The army chief said the insurgents now feast on attacking soft targets “for the sake of propaganda”.

But Shekau dismissed his claim, saying that his men have an upper hand in the war.

“Buratai, I am addressing you in your own language. I am speaking your language but you may not understand it. You claim you have defeated us but it is a lie. You are a real liar,” he said.

Bandits Kill Seven People in Kaduna Market

Meanwhile, bandits have killed seven people in a local market in Maro village, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
THISDAY gathered that the incident happened on Wednesday at about 6p.m. when the bandits invaded the market.

The killing came after 21 people, including a family of 13, were killed on Tuesday in a similar attack in Balali village, Giwa LGA of the state.

It was gathered that traders were closing for the day’s business when the bandits, dressed in military camouflage, arrived in the market and opened fire on them.

Narrating how the incident happened, the President of the Adara Youth Congress (AYC), Mr. Peter Joshua, said the bandits came in a vehicle and were dressed in military uniform.

He said nobody suspected that they were killers because soldiers used to come to the market on patrol every market day.
“They came to the market around 6p.m. when people were closing for businesses.
“They came in a vehicle and they were dressed in camouflage.

“Normally, every market day, soldiers come to the market on patrol. So, when they arrived, people thought they were the normal soldiers on patrol.

“Suddenly, they opened fire and seven people were killed on the spot while several others were injured” he said.
Spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mr. Muhammad Jalige, did not respond to text calls and text messages sent to his mobile phone.