Following the announcement on September 24, 2014, by the Nigerian Army that Leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau has been killed, a video was released by the sect debunking the claims.
In the video, Shekau described the Military’s claim as a “propaganda,” adding that he was alive and nothing will kill him until his days are over.
On many occasions, the Nigerian forces had made claims of either killing him or leaving him ‘fatally wounded’ after ‘successful’ operations. Months or weeks after such claims, the Boko Haram leader usually re-emerges, sometimes in a video to prove he had not been killed, thus creating doubts about the alleged successes in the fight against Boko Haram.
In August 2016, the Army said its “most unprecedented and spectacular air raid” has “fatally wounded” the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, on his shoulders, while confirming that Boko Haram commanders like Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, amongst others, were confirmed dead.
Major General Lucky Irabor, Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Nigeria’s military operation set up to quash Boko Haram, in September 2016, insisted that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is dead.
“I can confirm to you that the original Shekau was killed, the second Shekau was killed, and the man presenting himself as Shekau, I can also confirm to you that few days ago, he was wounded. We are yet to confirm whether he is dead or not”.
Where lays the contradiction, the Army or the media?
Despite the claims and counter-claims on the death of Shekau, could the Army be making unclarified statements or are they being quoted out of context?
In August 2017, Major General and Defence spokesperson, John Enenche, said, that they have evidence to prove that Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, has been killed, but admitted there are many Shekaus.
“Anything can be uploaded; there is no forensic evidence that can say this. There are many Shekaus, there are various Shekaus, which is my strong belief.
“A Shekau is still alive, people keep posing as Shekaus, but who knows the real Shekau? Only the indigenes and the people that are there, and people like carrying big names, that is why we keep knocking out any Shekau that comes up,”
However, both International and local media often interpret the Army’s statement differently.
For instance, when the Army said Shekau was “fatally injured” a Voice of America title reads “Nigeria Claims Boko Haram Leader Killed in Airstrike” while Daily Mail’s title read, “Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau ‘killed in air strike by Nigerian fighter jets along with other senior militants.” “Boko Haram leader killed in air strike,” The Independent of the UK also had as its headline.
The Nigerian media reported the news a bit differently. “Nigerian military says Boko Haram leader, Shekau, wounded in deadly air strike,” Premium Times, while Vanguard reads “Abubakar Shekau Wounded In NAF’s Sambia Raid”.
Business Day simply tweeted: “Nigeria’s military says it has seriously injured Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau and killed other commanders in an air strike.”
The confusion between what the International and Nigerian media reported is caused by the word ‘fatally’ used to describe the injuries Shekau sustained in the air strike, when used in relation to injuries, fatally usually denotes death.
However, with statements made by the Army, it remains quite unclear if the Shekau that keeps resurfacing is the real one or just a bunch of imposters.
