Boko Haram Video Confirms Leader Shekau’s Death

• Shekau led Boko Haram for more than 10 years and was best known for kidnapping over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, north-eastern Nigeria, in 2014

A video from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has been published, confirming the death of its leader, Abubakar Shekau.

Last month, a rival faction claimed Shekau had been killed during a confrontation with its fighters.

The Nigerian authorities have not commented on the claims.

This video adds to the growing evidence that Shekau really is dead this time.

In the three-minute clip seen by the BBC, a man dressed in white clothes with a black turban reads from a piece of paper in Arabic.

Read also: Boko Haram Leader Abubakar Shekau Is Dead – ISWAP

He’s flanked by dozens of fighters with rifles and ammunition, standing in what appears to be a rural area.

Boko Haram’s black flag is also visible.

The man speaking is said to be Boko Haram commander Bakura Modu, also known as Sahalaba.

Security analysts believe he may be the group’s new leader.

Many had hoped that Shekau’s death would lead to a cessation of hostilities between Boko Haram and the splinter Islamic State West Africa Province.

This video suggests that has not been the case.

Shekau led Boko Haram for more than 10 years and was best known for kidnapping over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, north-eastern Nigeria, in 2014.

Since its creation in 2009, Boko Haram has waged an insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria, and carried out attacks in neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

In Nigeria, the violence has displaced over two million people and caused at least 30,000 deaths.