TheCable

The Nigerian army has described as “a façade” videos of Abubakar Shekau released by Boko Haram.

According to Lucky Irabor, theatre commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, who was speaking in Adamawa state on Thursday, Shekau is dead.

He said the military had 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 that the army would pronounce Shekau dead, but the militant leader has been known for releasing videos to debunk the claims.

Last week, Sani Usman, army spokesman, issued a statement saying Shekau was “fatally” injured in an air raid.

“In what one could describe as the most unprecedented and spectacular air raid, we have just 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,” Usman had said.

“Those confirmed dead include 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.”

Recently, 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 never managing to rescue the abducted Chibok girls.