Shekau the boko haram might be dead, absent in Boko Haram’s latest video

Firstclass newsline gathered that Boko Haram rejected claims from
Nigeria's military that it has been routed by a four-nation offensive
in a video released online on Tuesday, which does not show the group's
leader, Abubakar Shekau.
The unidentified speaker, his face obscured by a headscarf, instead
called Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, who have been battling the
Islamists, "the lying coalition partners".
"Most of our territory is still under our control," said the speaker
in the 10-minute message which was posted on the video-sharing site
YouTube.
The video bears the logo "Islamic State in West Africa" and follows
the Nigerian militants' pledge of allegiance in an audio message in
March to the IS group, that has overrun large parts of Syria and Iraq.
The message is the first video released by Boko Haram since February,
when Shekau was shown in high definition footage and vowed to disrupt
Nigeria's elections.
He has featured prominently in most of the group's videos over the
last three years and his absence in the latest message will likely
stir further debate on his whereabouts or possible death.
Nigeria's military has previously claimed to have killed Shekau only
for him then to pop up on another video. The authorities have
explained such appearances away by saying that the role of "Shekau"
was filled by various lookalike insurgents.
Analysts have typically viewed Boko Haram as a factionalised group,
with a relatively weak central command structure.
It is possible that the movement towards the IS group in the Middle
East followed a split among the Nigerian militants and that Shekau —
if he is still alive — has lost a degree of control.
But solid information concerning power struggles within Boko Haram has
been scant to non-existent, so the current make-up of the group is
largely unknown.
The speaker in the new message appears in front of two pick-up trucks,
with four other gunmen visible in the background.
He speaks in the Hausa language that is dominant in northern Nigeria
with Arabic and English subtitles shown below.
An AK-47 rifle rests on his chest as he seeks to rebuke the claims of
successes made in recent weeks by the coalition.
"The armies claim through the media that they captured our towns and
that they assaulted Sambisa (forest) and defeated us," he said,
referring to the bushland area in Nigeria's northeast Borno state that
has been an Islamist stronghold.
"I swear by Allah that I am talking right now from Sambisa… Here in
Sambisa you can travel more than four to five hours under the black
flag of Islam by car or by motorbike."
"We are uncountable in Sambisa. We are thousands of Mujahedeen here,"
he further said, dismissing claims of the insurgents' defeat as "false
propaganda."
The latter parts of the video include depictions of gruesome violence,
including executions of apparent civilians and one man in a Nigeria
police uniform, who are shot at close range.
"President of Nigeria Jonathan" is mentioned, referring to Goodluck
Jonathan, who handed over power to Muhammadu Buhari last Friday, two
months after the latter's victory in elections on March 28.
In his inaugural speech as president on Friday, Buhari described Boko
Haram as "mindless" and "godless" and vowed to demolish the group
during his tenure.
But the Islamists struck hours after Buhari was sworn in, launching a
series of attacks since Saturday in Borno's capital Maiduguri,
deploying suicide bombers and fighting armed with rocket-propelled
grenades.
Firstclassnewsline.net