Army Claims to Have Killed Boko Haram Leader, Again

By Staff Reporter - 26 Sep '14 09:57AM

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has been killed by the Nigerian army, albeit for the third time. The army claimed to have kill him in 2009 and 2013.

Major General Chris Olukolade, a defence spokesman, said Wednesday that the army had killed a man posing as Abubakar Shekau. The man was identified as Mohammed Bashir and he died in clashes in Konduga. Bashir was believed to be impersonating Shekau in recent videos released by the group.

Bashir had been "acting or posing as the deceased Abubakar Shekau", who Olukolade called "the eccentric character known as the leader of the group", reports France 24 citing various news agencies.

The other scenario is that Shekaus is not dead and is using doubles to avoid being caught.The various avatars of Shekau keep on changing and in recent videos, which appear to be of Bashir, show a more plumper and flat faced Shekau, giving credence to the fact that doubles are being used.

"The Nigerian army has claimed on multiple occasions to have killed Shekau and it's been disproved," said Ben Payton, senior Africa analyst at UK-based risk consultancy Maplecroft, reports Reuters.

"The name Shekau has become a brand name for the terrorists' leader," spokesman Major-General Olukolade said Thursday.

Analysts are skeptical of the the army's claims of Shekau being dead. The only way to be sure that he is just a name being used by the group is when another video from Boko Haram surfaces.Shekau took over from Boko Haram's founder and spiritual leader Mohammed Yusuf, who was killed in police custody in 2009

The Nigerian military has been able to make some progress in the Boko Haram territory. The army said that 135 Boko Haram fighters had surrendered in the northeast town of Buni Yadi, some 200 km west of Konduga in Borno state recently.

Boko Haram, which means against western education, is a group of Islamic insurgents that launched an uprising in 2009 and have since killed thousands of civilians and kidnapped many, including 200 school girls in April , who have yet to be released.