Boko Haram leader hiding in military camp, El Zakzaky alleges

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Leader of the nation’s Shiite group, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibrahim El Zakzaky, has said that he has reliable information indicating that the most wanted Boko Haram sect leader, Abubakar Shekau, is hiding in a military facility in the country.

This is even as the fiery Islamic teacher said their Boko Haram insurgents are collaborating with the military in its activities.

Sheikh Zakzaky further described activities credited to the Boko Haram group as part of covert operations of a section of the West to balkanize Nigeria and plunder the nation’s resources.

He disclosed this at the weekend in Zaria, on the occasion of his movement’s annual Martyrs’ Day.

“Abubakar Shekau is presently being kept safe in a military camp,” Zakzaky asserted, adding that, “let no one be fooled; there is nothing like Boko Haram.

“It is a covert operation to balkanize Nigeria and steal its resources in the name of search for Boko Haram insurgents. If you can fool others, we cannot be fooled.

“They have realized that there is gold in Zamfara and Zaria, Birnin-Gwari, gold and platinum in Sokoto and Borno. They did it in Iraq, as they went in search of weapons of mass destruction which they never found but plunged the country into chaos.

“The same thing was experimented in Afghanistan before our eyes. The Western countries are experimenting the second phase of scramble for Africa with great expectations from Nigeria. The U.S. and Israel see the Islamic Movement in Nigeria as the greatest threat to achieving their sinister objective, hence the constant clampdown attempt and arrest of our members”, the cleric stated.

Zakzaky urged the appropriate authorities to order the release of two members of his Movement, Haruna Abbas and Ibrahim Hussain, arrested over a year ago for no just cause and “unjustifiably” detained without trial.

“No law or constitutional provision allows for such a lengthy detention without trial and without visitation by families and friends, especially in a democratic government Nigeria is claiming to operate,” Zakzaky said.

All efforts to contact the Director of Defence Information, Major-Gen. Chris Olukolade, to confirm or debunk the story were however unsuccessful, as he did not answer several calls and text messages forwarded to him.