Islamist militants boko haram have vowed to disrupt Nigeria’s March 28 elections at any cost in a newly released video.
It comes as fears grow that Nigeria is becoming increasingly unstable ahead of its already delayed general election. That was pushed back from February to allow the army more time to deal with the insurgency in the north-east.
On Tuesday ( February 17) bomb blasts struck at three different locations in the country killing dozens of people.
In neighboring Niger up to 35,000 people marched in support of the country’s military following a series of attacks.
Cameroon, Chad, Benin, Niger, and other African union leaders have pledged to support Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram.
The group which has caused havoc in Africa’s most populous country through a wave of bombings, assassinations and abductions, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
The video appeared to be the first message released by the group on Twitter, a sign of its changing media tactics after previous messages were distributed to journalists on DVD.
Shekau was shown in unusual clarity in front of a solid blue background, dressed in black and with an automatic weapon resting to his right.
Nigeria’s general election had been scheduled for February 14 but was postponed by six weeks, with the security services saying they needed more time to contain the violence in the northeast, Boko Haram’s stronghold.
Despite Shekau’s threat, experts doubt that the Islamist rebels have the capacity to disrupt voting nationwide, although election officials have conceded that voting could prove impossible in parts of the northeast, especially by March 28, the new election day.
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