The Nigerian Army has described as “a façade” videos of Abubakar Shekau released by Boko Haram.
Theatre commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Lucky Irabor, reiterated in Adamawa state yesterday that Shekau was dead.
He said the military killed the individual originally identified as Shekau, as well as his impostor.
“I can confirm to you that the original Shekau was killed, the second Shekau was killed, and the man presenting himself as Shekau, I can also confirm to you that few days ago, he was wounded. We are yet to confirm whether he is dead or not,” he said.
“They released videos to prove that they are still active, but, that’s just a facade.” Irabor said Boko Haram is currently divided as a result of military operations.
This is not the first time the army would pronounce Shekau dead, but the militant leader has been known for releasing videos to debunk the claims.
Last week, Col. Sani Usman, army spokesman, issued a statement and said Shekau was “fatally” injured in an air raid.
“In what one could describe as the most unprecedented and spectacular air raid, we confirmed that, as a result of the interdiction efforts of the Nigerian Air Force, some key leaders of the Boko Haram terrorists have been killed while others were fatally wounded.
“Those confirmed dead were Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, amongst others, while their leader, the so-called ‘Abubakar Shekau’, is believed to be fatally wounded on his shoulders. Several other terrorists were also wounded,” Usman said.
Former Education minister, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, leader of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement, taunted the military for “triumphantly” announcing the death of Shekau on four occasions, while unable to rescue the abducted Chibok girls.
On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram abducted over 260 grils from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State and subsequently, married off some of them to their members.
Early this year, Amina Ali-Nkeki, one of the abducted girls, was rescued with a baby, alongside her Boko Haram husband.
Recently, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar said the Airforce did not know the location of the girls. There is no credible intelligence that will specifically tell you their that these girls are here,” he said
