11 January 12 14:48



The leader of Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist militants has defended recent attacks on Christians, saying they are revenge for killings of Muslims.

In his first video message, posted on YouTube, Abubakar Shekau referred to attacks on Muslims in recent years in several parts of northern Nigeria.

Boko Haram militants attacked several churches on Christmas Day, killing dozens of worshippers.

This has led to some reprisals against mosques in the mainly Christian south.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with 160 million people, is divided between a largely Muslim north and a south where most people are Christians and some animists.

Thousands of people have fled their homes following the recent attacks, leading some people, including Nigeria's president and the leader of the country's main Christian organisation, to make comparisons with the 1967-70 civil war when leaders of the south-eastern Igbo ethnic group tried to secede.

'Religious cleansing'

Mr Shekau, wearing a red and white turban, a bullet-proof vest and sitting in front of two Kalashnikov rifles, said he was responding to recent statements from Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan and the leader of the country's main Christian organisation, the Christian Association of Nigeria.

He warned President Jonathan that Nigeria's security forces would not be able to defeat the group.

Mr Jonathan, a Christian, has declared a state of emergency in some northern states but the attacks have continued.

On Tuesday night, gunmen opened fire on a bar in the northern state of Yobe, killing eight people, including several police officers.

The president recently said that he suspected some officials, politicians and members of the security forces sympathised with Boko Haram.

Defending the latest spate of violence, Mr Shekau referred to the killing of Muslims in places like Jos, Kaduna, Zangon Kataf, Tafawa Balewa in recent years.

Some of these places have seen bitter communal clashes but correspondents say they are often based on long-standing disputes over resources such as land, or are whipped up by politicians, rather than being based on religious differences.

"We are also at war with Christians because the whole world knows what they did to us," Mr Shekau said in the video, speaking in Hausa - the most common language in northern Nigeria.

"They killed our fellows and even ate their flesh in Jos," he said, referring to reports last year of isolated cases of Christian youths burning and eating their rivals in Plateau state, where more than 1,000 people have been killed in a series of clashes over the past two years.

Christian Association of Nigeria head Ayo Oritsejafor said on Saturday that his members would protect themselves against the attacks, which he said suggested "systematic ethnic and religious cleansing".

Mr Shekau said the group could only hold talks with the government in accordance with the teachings of Islam.

He said the group's primary targets remained the security forces, who he said had summarily executed their former leader Mohammed Yusuf after he was arrested in 2009.

"Everyone has seen how we were treated, people have seen what has happened between us and armed security agents and their accomplices who give them information about us," Mr Shekau said.

After a lull, in 2010 the group started to stage drive-by shootings on government targets in its base in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri.

Last year, it carried out suicide bombings on high-profile targets such as the headquarters of the UN and the police in the capital, Abuja.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-africa-16510929

I'm mobile and cannot lay hands on the you tube video for now. Anyone can search and embed here.

I believe pple are taking these BH stuff too far, it's nothing but a loose confederate of criminals from all part of the country. Becoz the educated guys are not into this shite, so if it's the illiterate ones how come they've sundenly gone high-tech, and media savvy with contacts of major news outlet and even YouTube accounts.

Well I hope they soon set up a Facebook account too. This is nothing but the failure of govt to protect it's citizens, govt says it noes them, they are in govt but it can't name them or fish them out. Classic PDP excuse. We know the cabals but we can't touch them.

[flash=400,400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtjpzg9n7Vc?version=3&hl=en[/flash]

Now I can begin to put faces to the names. The game just entered a whole new level.

how many kinds of BH do we have?
a group of BH said they werent responsible for killing christians

@ Toba, it's obvious there are many factions and the political faction is fast swallowing up the others with strong support from international terrorists.

hahahahahahahhahaha, paid western conspirator, useless BOKO HARAM CIA agents, BOKO HARAM my FOOT, we wil crush you, you come to Kano and we chased you,,,,we real muslims will follow you to bush and chop your meat too,,,,

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-827907.0.html

Boko Haram: Timeline of terror

2002: Founded
2009: Hundreds killed when Maiduguri police stations stormed
2009: Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf captured by army, handed to police, later found dead
Sep 2010: Freed hundreds of prisoners from Maiduguri jail
Dec 2010: Bombed Jos, killing 80 people and blamed for New Year's Eve attack on Abuja barracks
2010-2011: Dozens killed in Maiduguri shootings
May 2011: Bombed several states after president's inauguration
Jun 2011: Police HQ bombed in Abuja
Aug 2011: UN HQ bombed in Abuja
Nov 2011: Co-ordinated bomb and gun attacks in Yobe and Borno states
Dec 2011: Multiple bomb attacks on Christmas Day kill dozens
Jan 2012: Over 50 peopled killed in Churches

Another Osama in the making. Now they are posting videos on youtube. Ogaju

If indeed this Govt. is serious, the computer from which this video is posted can be traced. That tells you how dumb this BH people are, have they wondered why Al-Qaeda and Co. only leave messages on tapes for news media. But GEJ don't have time for that, but busy using our 6 million Naira to have breakfast with his family.

Boko haram just bomb maiduguri again: http://globebreaknews..com/2012/01/boko-haram-nigerian-islamist-leader.html

I sincerely hope Jonathan can handle this country? In the first place, why would the slain boko haram family be paid 100m? Where is it done in the world to pay slain terrorist families? Jonathan should stop hiding some people rather; he should expose them

These guys hate western education but have gone digital. I laff in swahili

Its Govenrment that posted it on you tube to justify the 900billion security vote, see the BOKO HARAM SPOKESMAN swollen BELLE, Him collect bribe and chop tire,,

He is a big F.O.O.L!!, capital one!, hungry bastard, bloody killer, may the almighty God that i serve strike you dead within 24hrs  for the precious lives you have taken.

shameless group.

think is high time every citizenry start holding guns

I LOVE CIA JOB, they can decieve dumb people tire,,,, see this well bribed man  

and some people are saying its nt boko haram dat carried out the xmas day bombing, d dyin wish of an average muslim is to c nigeria become an islamic country, true or false? If given d opportunity d muslims r ready to kill all xtians, if nt y r dy nt speakin up, y r dy nt talkin to their brodas, wat r dy efforts d muslims r doing to exonerate demselves 4rm dis killin of xtians. I stand to b corrected An average hausa muslim is ready to kill any xtian nd suports dis killings. Muslims r in support of boko haram period.

hsert:

I sincerely hope Jonathan can handle this country? In the first place, why would the slain boko haram family be paid 100m? Where is it done in the world to pay slain terrorist families? Jonathan should stop hiding some people rather; he should expose them

T8ksy:


But the family of the slain ex-leader had just been awarded a whooping N100m compensation by the state govt so what's he going about?

However, who compensates the families of all those killed by this religious sect? Moreover, why are they now killing civilians when they knew their former leader was killed by

the security forces? This one na boju boju jo and we are not fooled. Eventually, the whole truth behind BK's terrorism in the country will surface.

Point of correction, the slain leader/founder of boko haram, Yusuf's family was not the one compesated.
It was the family of his father in-law, Baba Fugu, whom d police killed after he willingly reported himself to the police. Mind u, he was never a boko haram sympathizer but rather an active critic of his late son-law.
Nxt time, try and read articles co,pletely and not just reading d topic n making  conclusions.

SILAKABUWA:

Its Govenrment that posted it on you tube to justify the 900billion security vote, see the BOKO HARAM SPOKESMAN swollen BELLE, Him collect bribe and chop tire,,

The guys are serious o.

Some Important Colonial History

GEJ brought in outside security help, compare and contrast with current events in 9ja.

Heavy Read, set aside a few minutes to study.

http://www.inminds.com/jews-of-iraq.html

I saw the beginning of the video, this s.o.b has a chewing stick on his hand recording a message. I am a muslim and understands all of what he said in arabic in the beginning before his blabbing in Hausa. All of what he said contradicts BH's actions and activities, these people will be at the bottom of hell fire for bringing the beatiful religion of islam into their political thuggery. Can someone tell me if a d.u.m.b.a.s.s. like this can read and write in english, use a computer let alone post it on you tube?
"it is someone that is in the 'oro'  masquerade that makes it sound". 'BH an islamic sect' my black a.s.s.

not his fault, its all because we have this lame duck president that is unwilling to crush moooslime boko haram like him.
let the game begin in earnest.

i am beggining to blame gOV'T OF HIDING TRUTH, GEJ, we beg you to do something by way of bringing who ever is involve to book, since u said u knew them then what are u waiting for

"Its Govenrment that posted it on you tube to justify the 900billion security vote, see the BOKO HARAM SPOKESMAN swollen BELLE, Him collect bribe and chop tire",, @Salikabuwa you are right on point, but who paid you to pose as a Northerner and try to whip up Ethnic sentiments in your accusation of Igbos and Yorubas trying to smmuggle weapons from Ghana? I sure say your belle big,  

If Nigeria was a state that has law and order, people like this could not have stupidly come out to make statements like this

Please can someone tell AYO ORITSEJAFOR to shut up and stop jeopardizing the lives of christians.In other countries renowned pastors is a blessing but in Nigeria the reverse is the case rather than the exception

I am sorry for these Boko boys, because by the time we finish with FG on the fuel subsidy and we land on them, they wouldn't know what hit them, shay they are still there making mouth, this one wont be like Afghanistan or Pakistan or Sudan or Somaila, this is NIGERIA and it is in everything we are different

JUST WAIT AND SEE