Embattled Boko Haram Leader Shekau Resurfaces in Video

When the militant claimed it had killed Shekau in September 2014, he released a video saying: “Here I am, alive”.

It was then reported by the Nigerien Army to have been fatally wounded.

The video was recorded in three languages, Hausa, Kanuri, and English.

“If you want your girls, bring back our brethren”, Shekau says.

Nigerian armed forces spokesman Sani Usman downplayed the video released on Sunday.

Continuing, “At the end of the fierce encounter, the troops counted 22 dead bodies of Boko Haram fighters”.

“The Chadian army killed seven Boko Haram fighters”, the source said.

Usman, the acting Director, Army Public Relations, however, said four soldiers died in the attack and their rifles missing, while two others sustained injuries.

Boko Harem, the world’s most deadly terrorist group, has killed some 20,000 people and displaced more than 2.6 million since it formed in Nigeria in 2009.

Mr Shekau denied this, insisting he was still the leader.

In his response, the United Nations secretary general stated that the Nigerian president was a globally respected leader, and commended Buhari for his anti-corruption war, noting that the successes of his administration’s fight against Boko Haram were noted by the UN. He has publicly criticized his former mentor for killing too many civilians, including Muslims.

He had also criticised the brutal leadership style of Shekau, alleging he has secretly killed top militant commanders who disagreed with him.

Shekau had pledged alliance to the self-declared “Islamic State” (IS) group in 2015.

The military has yet to comment on the latest video.

That appointment was later dismissed in a 10-minute audio clip on social media by a man purporting to be Shekau, exposing divisions within the jihadist group that has plagued Nigeria and neighbors Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

The seven-year conflict is not going well, and the worldwide attention the Boko Haram conflict received after the kidnapping of the Chibok girls has largely dried up, according to The New York Times.