Some security experts and those with the knowledge of Boko Haram operations have expressed doubt about the voice behind the latest audio ascribed to the factional leader of the Boko Haram insurgents, Abubakar Shekau.
A man, who claimed to be Shekau in the audio message had said that they (Boko Haram) were responsible for the abduction of over 500 students at Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, on Friday.
- Dont send your wards to study in hostile countries, FG cautions
- Ganduje orders closure of BUK, other tertiary institutions
The man said a total of 523 students were taken away but some security experts who spoke with Daily Trust expressed doubts as to whether the voice in the audio was that of Shekau.
One of the security experts said considering the manner he spoke, the way he called himself (Abubakar Shekau) instead Abu Muhammad Asshakawi, the way he normally addresses himself in most of his messages, both audio and video, the audio message might be coming from an impostor.
One of the experts also wondered why the man slipped in pronouncing the name of the group: Jamaátu Ahlis-Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad.
The security experts however concluded that despite the inconsistencies in the audio, “the message is clear that Boko Haram is responsible for the mass abduction.
Daily Trust reports that the abduction of the schoolboys in Kankara will be the first and biggest onslaught by the group outside North-East region which has been their enclave for years.
“Of course, we have been saying it for a long time that the terrorists have infiltrated the North West and North Central…A lot of atrocities being committed could be attributed to them but the message they sent yesterday has put everything to rest,” the source, a retired military officer said.
In the audio message, the man behind the microphone said the attack was carried out to “promote Islam and discourage un-Islamic practices.”
According to him, “What happened in Katsina was done to promote Islam and discourage un-Islamic practices as western education is not the type of education permitted by Allah and his Holy Prophet.
“They are also not teaching what Allah and his Holy Prophet commanded. They are rather destroying Islam,” he said.
