Leader of the Boko Haram Terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau has reacted to the appointment of new service chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Boko Haram factional leader in the nine minutes, 56 seconds-long clip mocked the newly appointed military chiefs, telling them they can’t perform better than their predecessors.
He called on those of them that are not Muslims to convert to Islam and warned those who are already Muslims not to think they will be able to do anything against him because their own version of Islam is ‘fake.’
President Buhari on Tuesday, 26th January, 2021 appointed new service chiefs for the nation after the previous ones were relieved of their duties.
The President appointed Maj Gen LEO Irabor as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Maj Gen I Attahiru as Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Rear Admiral A Z Gambo as Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), and AVM I O Amao as Chief of Air Staff (CAS).
Shekau in the clip as reported by HumAngle in which he reacted to the new appointments, called out the name of each of the new service chiefs, and told them to rather join him.
“Leo Irabor, the head of the military, you should have sympathy for yourself, repent and convert to Islam. There is nothing you can do,” Shekau said.
He added that the new Chief of Army Staff, Maj-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru despite his Muslim background should not deceive himself as he is no longer a Muslim because of certain practices.
“Even if you are Muslim but you conduct polytheistic practices, you are no longer a Muslim,” Shekau added.
Nigeria is locked in an on-going battle with the terrorists who have been operating majorly out of the country’s North-East region for over ten years.
Military operations have been deployed in the war against the terrorists.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday during a meeting with the new service chiefs noted that his administration has not found the fight against insurgency easy.
The President in a statement released through his spokesman, Femi Adesina, called on the service chiefs to be patriotic, saying the country was in an emergency.
Buhari was quoted in the statement saying, “We’re in a state of emergency. Be patriotic, serve the country well, as your loyalty is to the country.”
“You know the stage we were in 2015, you know the stage we are now, and the undertakings we made.”
“We promised to secure the country, revive the economy, and fight corruption. None has been easy, but we have certainly made progress.”