Shekau rebuffs Idriss Deby’s claims, says I am alive, in charge

The leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram denied he had been killed or ousted as chief of the jihadist group in an audio recording released Sunday attributed to him by security experts.

In the eight-minute Hausa-language message, Abubakar Shekau rebuffed claims by Chadian leader Idriss Deby that he had been replaced and called the president a “hypocrite” and a “tyrant”.

“It is indeed all over the global media of infidels that I am dead or that I am sick and incapacitated and have lost influence in the affairs of religion,” he said in the recording released on social media.

“It should be understood that this is false. This is indeed a lie. If it were true, my voice wouldn’t have been heard, now that I am speaking.”

Deby declared on August 12 that efforts to combat neighbouring Nigeria’s Boko Haram jihadists had succeeded in “decapitating” the group and would be wrapped up “by the end of the year”.

Deby told reporters in the capital N’Djamena Boko Haram was no longer led by the fearsome Shekau and that his successor, whom he named as Mahamat Daoud, was open to talks.

“Gratitude be to Allah and with his help, I have not disappeared. I am still alive and I am not dead. And I will not die until my time appointed by Allah is up,” Shekau said in the message.

The SITE Intelligence Group verified the authenticity of the message, and an AFP correspondent with extensive experience of reporting Boko Haram said it exactly resembled Shekau’s voice in previous recordings.

– Taunts –

Shekau’s absence from Boko Haram videos in recent months has fuelled speculation that he might have been killed or wounded.

He has not spoken publicly since he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group in an audio recording released on March 7.

The jihadist commander refers to himself in the new recording for the first time as “leader of the west Africa wing” of IS and pays homage to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, referring to him as the “Caliph of Muslims”.

He taunted Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power on May 29 vowing to crush Boko Haram and ordered his military chiefs last week to end the insurgency within three months.

“This ostentatious person, a liar — I mean Buhari, who raised arms to crush us in three months. You Buhari, why didn’t you say in three years?” Shekau demanded.

“We will certainly fight you by the grace of Allah until we establish Allah’s law everywhere on Earth.”