BY Taiwo George
President Idriss Deby of Chad says Boko Haram has picked a new leader, fuelling speculation that Abubakar Shekau may indeed be dead.
Deby did not say what had happened to Shekau, but disclosed that the face of Boko Haram had been replaced by Mahamat Daoud — who has not been heard of before.
Shekau has been missing in the group’s videos in the last five months, lending force to the belief that he has been killed.
TheCable has seen a picture appearing to show the dead body of Shekau in a place identified as Sambisa forest, but a military spokesman said he could neither deny nor confirm the claim.
The issue of Shekau’s death has brought embarrassment to the military as the unrepentant militant has refuted the reports of his demise on three separate occasions that the security forces claimed to have silenced him.
In a video he released in October, 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.
Under his leadership the group became more radical and carried out more killings.
Shekau was last heard of in March when he announced Boko Haram’s alliance to the Islamic State (IS).
Ahmad Sakilda, a Nigerian journalist, known to have access to commanders of the sect, had predicted that Shekau could be replaced as a result of the IS deal.
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