Freed Boko Haram fighter says group ready to attack Abuja

A man purporting to be a Boko Haram fighter said the group plans to bomb Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, in a video seen by Reuters on Saturday.

The man who gave his name as Abu Dardaa confirmed that he was arrested in Gombe State after detonating bombs. He said he had returned to his ‘brothers’ in the Sambisa forest and that they were ready to begin attacks.

“More bombs attacks are on the way, including Abuja that you feel is secured,” said the man in the video, which was obtained by Sahara Reporters, a U.S.-based journalism website, and Nigerian journalist Ahmad Salkida.

Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the video. The man spoke in the Hausa language widely used in northern Nigeria and held a rifle while flanked by four other armed men.

He dismissed claims that the Army had driven the group out of the forest and that they had not been defeated as President Buhari and the Army Chief continue to proclaim.

FLASH: Boko Haram Commanders swapped with 82 #Chibokgirls making fresh threats to bomb Abuja in new videos obtained by ContactSalkida pic.twitter.com/lpCTwEoKeg

— Sahara Reporters (SaharaReporters) May 12, 2017

Nigeria’s state security agency, the Department of State Services (DSS), in April said it had thwarted plans by Boko Haram militants linked to Islamic State to attack the British and U.S. embassies in Abuja.

About 82 girls were freed last Saturday in exchange for Boko Haram commanders after being held captive for three years. They were among about 270 kidnapped by the group from the town of Chibok in northeast Nigeria in April 2014.

Boko Haram controlled a swathe of land in northeast Nigeria about the size of Belgium until the start of 2015 when the Muhammadu Buhari government assumed power.

The army has retaken much of the territory that had been lost to the group, but large parts of the northeast, particularly in Borno state, remain under threat from the militants.

Reuters