Purported Boko Haram fighter releases new video threatening to bomb 'secured' Nigerian capital

A purported Islamist fighter of Boko Haram is reported to have released a video claiming that the militant group has been planning to carry out several bomb attacks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

"More bomb attacks are on the way, including Abuja that you feel is secured," a man purporting to be a part of the group said, according to a video seen by Reuters on Saturday (13 May).

The video was obtained by a US-based news portal, Sahara Reporters, and Nigerian journalist Ahmad Salkida.

The video shows the man speaking in Hausa, a language spoken widely in northern Nigeria. He is armed with a rifle and flanked by four armed men.

Boko Haram also released another video in which one of the females, who claims to be among the abducted Chibok girls, said she did not want to leave the militant group to return home.

"We don't want to reunite with our parents because they are not worshipping Allah, and I urge you to join us," the girl reportedly said. "We have not been forcefully married to anybody. Marriage is based on your wish."

According to Reuters, the female is seen covered in full-length Islamic garb along with three other girls. She also speaks in the Hausa language and is seen holding a rifle.

Both the videos are unverified.

After almost three years in captivity, about 82 girls from Chibok in northeast Nigeria were freed on 6 May in exchange for Boko Haram commanders after negotiations. The release of the girls was the largest since Boko Haram fighters stormed a school in Chibok on 14 April 2014 and abducted at least 256 teenage girls.

In October 2016, another 21 girls were released following negotiations mediated by the Red Cross. However, the fate of over 100 girls still held captive by the insurgents remains uncertain.

Some of the abducted girls have reportedly refused to return home. It has fuelled fears that they might have been radicalised, mediator and lawyer Zannah Mustapha said.

Around 20,000 people were killed and more than two million people were forced to flee their homez since 2009 following the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. The uprising aimed at creating a state that adheres to strict Islamic laws in the northeast African country.