Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a lengthy video in which he claimed to have created an Islamic caliphate in Gwoza in northern Nigeria’s Borno state; last month Shekau had voiced his support for the leader of the Islamic State as well as leaders of al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Nigerian military dismissed Boko Haram’s announcement and promised to launch an offensive soon in the northeast against the group, and security has been heightened following Boko Haram’s most recent attack on a police academy in Gwoza. The academy was attacked yesterday for the third time this month, and 35 policemen have gone missing.
