Federal Government Admits Shekau Is Alive

The Federal Government has finally admitted that the leader of the

Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau, is not dead but alive and hiding

somewhere in the Sambisa forest.



Addressing journalists after a meeting with President Muhammadu

Buhari, the Minister Of Defence, Mr Mansur Dan-Ali, explained that it

has been difficult to arrest the sect leader because the insurgents

normally wear masks to conceal their identities and divert attention.

Mr Dan-Ali however said the military has taken over the Sambisa forest

and will soon capture the leader of the sect.





_Fatally Injured_



In August 2016, the Nigerian Air Force had said it killed some key

members of the group and wounded many others, including the leader of

the sect, Abubakar Shekau, during an airstrike in Taye Village, Borno

State. However, in September, a video purportedly released by the

factional leader of the insurgent group, debunked the military's

claims.

A man claiming to be Shekau appeared healthy in the video, speaking in

Arabic, Hausa and Kanuri languages.





_Running Smoothly_



More recently, Shekau, reportedly reappeared in a new video in which

he dismissed claims that many of his members have been killed.



According to the AFP, Shekau released a 27-minute video in which he

spoke for about 20minutes in Hausa and Kanuri, criticising the

countries in the Lake Chad area fighting the group under the

Multinational Joint Task Force.



He was said to have singled out Cameroon which reportedly announced

that its soldiers killed about 60 Boko Haram members and arrested

scores of others, while freeing about 5,000 hostages.



Speaking in the video, Shekau reportedly described the claim as a lie,

insisting that his so-called caliphate was ' running smoothly'.