Militant Islamists have released a new video on the insurgency in Nigeria, with Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau again failing to appear in it, reports BBC on Monday.

His continued absence has increased speculation about his fate. He was last heard from in March, when he released an audio message pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group.

Soon thereafter, Nigeria’s military said it had recaptured all towns and cities from Boko Haram. The military said on Sunday that it had freed 178 people held captive by Boko Haram in north-eastern Borno state, and had killed a commander following airstrikes on its bases.

In the eight-minute video, an unidentified young man speaks in the name of the Islamic State in West Africa calling on people to be patient: “We are still present everywhere we had been before.”

The video shows the militants attacking a security checkpoint, seizing weapons, and slitting the throat of a man dressed in a police uniform.

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