Crime
Five Times Abubakar Shekau Had ‘Died’ And ‘Rose Again’
- When the latest news of the death of Shekau, surfaced online a few days ago, Nigerians, as well as the international community, received it with much skepticism
The Nigerian and regional security forces had, before this latest report, declared Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau dead not less than six times since 2009, EKO HOT BLOG gathered.
On each of those occasions, the terrorist leader miraculously ‘rose again, and released video messages to mock the government for declaring him dead.
Below is a timeline of Shekau’s ‘deaths’ and eventual miraculous ‘resurrections’:
July 2009
Shortly after taking over the mantle of leadership of the terror group in 2009 following the death of the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, Shekau was reportedly killed in a battle between his terror group and Nigeria’s security forces.
But in July 2010, he resurfaced in a videotaped interview where he admitted that he had suffered a gunshot wound in his thigh but had recovered from it.
August 2013
In August 2013, Shekau again was reported dead. He was said to have been shot on 30 June 2013 during a military raid on the jihadist group’s hideout in Sambisa forest.
Intelligence report claimed that Shekau died between 25 July and 3 August 2013 from gunshot wounds. However, in September 2013, a man claiming to be Shekau appeared in a video.
The Nigerian military insisted that the real Shekau was dead and the man seen in the new video was a fraud.
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September 2014
The Nigerian Army again declared Shekau dead. According to the army, Shekau was this time killed by Cameroonian military forces when Boko Haram attempted to capture Kodunga in Borno State.
The Cameroonian military corroborated the story and even released a picture of ‘Shekau’s body’. The picture expectedly went viral on social media. A month later, in October, Shekau once again resurfaced in a video where he made a mockery of his alleged killing.
August 2015
The late President of the Republic of Chad, Idriss Deby, claimed that Shekau had been killed and that the terror group had replaced him with a new leader. But in the same month, Shekau released an audio message on social media, declaring that he was alive and well and still the leader of Boko Haram.
August 2016
The Nigerian Air Force declared that it had ‘fatally wounded’ Shekau in airstrikes.
But a month later, in September, Shekau yet again reappeared in a video to prove that he was alive.
It is these many deaths and resurrections of the terrorist leader that made Nigerians and the international cast doubt on news of his latest death.
However, Shekau is dead indeed this time around!
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