Less than a week after the Boko Haram show of strength in Gombe, the Gombe State capital, where leaflets discouraging residents from participating in the upcoming general elections were distributed, the leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau has released a new video vowing to disrupt the polls now scheduled for March 28 and April 11.

The video, which was released on YouTube, had Shekau addressing the camera, dressed in black and with an automatic weapon to his right.

Speaking in Hausa language, the Boko Haram leader stated that the election “will not be held even if we are dead. Even if we are not alive Allah will never allow you to do it.”

Shekau also claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack that occurred in Gombe, which the military says it repelled.

Reports indicate that Boko Haram insurgents drove in a convoy of Hilux trucks, throwing anti-election leaflets around the city on Saturday.

More than any other video released by the sect, this latest one not only indicates that the terrorist group has ramped up its media tactics but is also increasingly learning a lot from the propaganda and media strategy of another terrorist group, the Islamic State, ISIS.

Apart from showing video clips depicting scenes such as distribution of leaflets to propagate its position and child soldiers in operation, another media propaganda strategy that Boko Haram insurgents have borrowed from ISIS is the use of Twitter.

Boko Haram in mid – January created its Twitter account with the handle @Alurwa_Alwuthqa and had gotten more than 4,000 followers in two weeks before it was closed down by Twitter