Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram
sect, has broken his five-month silence, refuting
the report of his death in an audio message
posted on social media on Sunday.
Describing President Idris Deby of Chad as a
"hypocrite", Shekau said infidels were behind
reports of his death.
"It is indeed all over the global media of infidels
that I am dead or that I am sick," he said.
"It should be understood that this is false. This is
indeed a lie. If it were true, my voice wouldn't
have been heard, now that I am speaking.
"I have not disappeared. I am still alive and I will
not die until my time appointed by Allah is up."
In the eight minute recording addressed to to the
leader of the Islamic State (IS), Shekau said he
was still in control of Boko Haram.
Last week during a press conference to mark
Chad's 55th independence anniversary, Deby said
Shekau had been replaced with one Mahamat
Daoud.
"There is someone apparently called Mahamat
Daoud who is said to have replaced Abubakar
Shekau and wants to negotiate with the Nigerian
government," he had said.
But Ahmad Salkida, a Nigerian journalist known to
have access to top commanders of the sect,
subsequently dismissed Deby's view.
Salkida accused the Chadian leader of attempting
to mislead the government of President
Muhammadu Buhari the same way he did to
Jonathan.
The Nigerian authorities refused to comment
about Shekau all through the period of his
absence apparently because the issue of his
death had been an embarrassment in the past.
The unrepentant militant refuted reports of his
demise on three separate occasions that security
forces claimed to have silenced him.
In a video he released in October 2014, Shekau
taunted the military saying he has "one soul".
"Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah
takes my breath. I am running our… Islamic
caliphate and administering sharia punishments,"
he had said.
"Nothing will kill me until my days are over… I'm
still alive. Some people asked you if Shekau has
two souls. No, I have one soul, by Allah. It is
propaganda that is prevalent. I have one soul.
I'm an Islamic student. I'm the Islamic student
whose seminary you burnt… I'm not dead."
Shekau took control of the group after its founder,
Muhammad Yusuf, died in police custody in July
2009.
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