‘Shekau’ is dead, Nigerian military insists

The Nigerian military has reacted to the new Boko Haram video dismissing the reported death of Abubakar Shekau’s impostor, saying as far as it is concerned, the said insurgent was killed in September.

The defence headquarters released a statement saying that although there is no proof that the video is current, it would still study the claims in it.

“From immediate observation and what some online news outlets claimed to have seen, the video did not indicate when it was shot neither did it show any proof of life or currency such as screen time or date.

“The video also did not make any reference to anything that has happened since the impostor’s reported death.”

Earlier, the military announced the death of Isa Damsaka, an impostor of Abubakar Shekau. It said Shekau was killed in 2013, and a controversial video is in circulation to that effect.

The military added that the missing jet seen in the video went missing before the death, meaning that the video could have been pre-recorded.

“It is also noteworthy that the air plane said to be mentioned in the video had been missing before he was killed,” it said.

“It should not surprise anybody if the terrorists decide to manipulate pictures, clone another Shekau or upload a pre-recorded video all in a bid to prove invincible.

“As far as we are concerned, the individual who was appearing in video and claiming to be the leader of the terrorist group was killed in the Kondunga battle in September.”

According to the statement, the military made sure to confirm the identity from someone who knew him before announcing his death.

“The resemblance of the corpse and that of the eccentric character was incontrovertible. His identity was equally corroborated by people who knew him before we announced his death.”

The defence headquarters, which is still waiting to see the video, said justice would be served, as necessary.

“So, while waiting to see the new video before any further statement, our message to them is that justice will be served to whoever bears that name or designation and whoever engages in the act.”