Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, has been made to look invincible — like a cat that has nine lives.
On several occasions, he has been declared wanted by the Nigerian Military; once, a supposed picture of his body was circulated on the Internet.
But on each occasion when he was supposedly killed or injured, Shekau resurfaced either in a video or audio message, mocking the Nigerian government and threatening fiercer attacks.
For the umpteenth time, Shekau’s capture has been ordered. At the weekend, Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff, gave a 40-day ultimatum to his men in Maiduguri to provide Shekau dead or alive.
How many times has Shekau been killed already?
AUGUST 2013
On August 19, 2013, the Joint Task Force, said that Shekau “may have been killed” in an attack on the Boko Haram Terrorist in June of the same year.
A press statement signed by Sagir Musa, a Lieutenant-Colonel and Spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF), said that Intelligence report “revealed that Abubakar Shekau, the most dreaded and wanted Boko Haram terrorist leader, may have died”.
“He died of gunshot wound received in an encounter with the JTF troops in one of their camps at Sambisa Forest on 30 June 2013. Shekau was mortally wounded in the encounter and was sneaked into Amitchide – a border community in Cameroun for treatment which he never recovered from,” the task force’s statement claimed.
Musa said further that “It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August, 2013”.
SEPTEMBER 2014
Chris Olukolade, former Director of Defence Information, issued a statement on September 25, 2014 reiterating that Shekau had been killed.
Olukolade explained that the man who was at the time pretending to be Shekau was one Mohammed Bashir, who had been posing in videos as Abubakar Shekau.
“Since the name Shekau has become a brand name for the terrorists’ leader, the Nigerian military remains resolute to serve justice to anyone who assumes that designation or title as well as all terrorists that seek to violate the freedom and territory of Nigeria,” Olukolade said.
AUGUST 2016, ‘FATAL’ INJURY
Also on August 18, 2016, Sani Usman, the Nigerian Army Spokesman, said that several Boko Haram leaders, including the presumed leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, were killed in a raid on Sambisa Forest by the Nigerian Air Force.
“The air interdiction took place last week Friday 19th August 2016, while the terrorists were performing Friday rituals at Taye village, Gombale general area within Sambisa forest, Borno State,” the statement read.
“Those Boko Haram terrorists commanders confirmed dead include Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, amongst others, while their leader, so called “Abubakar Shekau”, is believed to be fatally wounded on his shoulders. Several other terrorists were also wounded.”
SEPTEMBER 2016
A month later, Leo Irabor, the then Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, reiterated that Shekau had long been killed.
He maintained that the term Shekau does not refer to one particular individual but rather is a title for the leader of the Boko Haram.
Irabo noted that both the original and subsequent Shekaus had been killed by the Army.
“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,” he said, adding that the Army does not make statements that are not based on facts.
“They released videos to prove that they are still active, but that’s just a façade,” he said.
But in a video released few weeks later, Shekau, flanked by two gun-wielding Boko Haram fighters on either side, and speaking in Arabic, Hausa, Kanuri and English, made fun of the Nigerian government and swore to keep fighting.
As of the time Shekau was first declared wanted in 2012, Boko Haram had killed more than 2,500 persons in several attacks. That figure has since increased between by more than 100% to around 25,000 people.
The Nigerian military placed a N50 million bounty on him, while the government of the United States of America promised to give $7 million on anyone with information that could lead to his arrest.
But having killed him four times yet remain in the hunt for his life, maybe Lai Mohammed’s view of the militant leader may be correct after all. “You know my understanding of Shekau?” Mohammed once said. “Shekau may not be a real name. If you kill one Shekau today, there are hundreds that come to that place.”