A New Video: Boko Haram Shekau - U guess right?

A man claiming to be Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has appeared in a new video, contradicting Nigerian military reports that he was killed, French news agency AFP reported on Thursday.

Screen grabs of the video, seen by Reuters, show a figure in boots and combat fatigues who looks similar to the man claiming to be Shekau in previous videos.

"Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath," he says in the northern Hausa language, reported the news agency, which normally receives Boko Haram tapes first, before they are distributed online.

Nigeria's military said last week that the man who had been posing as Shekau in the group's growing number of videos had been killed in clashes over the town of Konduga.

The military announced the death of Shekau himself a year ago, saying he had died in battle.

After that, the man appearing in videos as Shekau did look different from before, with a wider nose, less defined bridge and a rounder face.

In the most recent video, Shekau says "nothing will kill me until my days are over ... Some people asked you if Shekau has two souls. No, I have one soul, by Allah," AFP said.

http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Boko-Haram-leader-appears-in-new-video-20141002

     The Defence Headquarters is studying the claims made in the video purportedly released by the terrorists showing their leader Abubakar Shekau as dismissing his death. From immediate observation and what some online news outlets claimed to have seen, the video did not indicate when it was shot neither did it show any proof of life or currency such as screen time or date.

    The video also did not make any reference to anything that has happened since the impostor’s reported death. It is also noteworthy that the air plane said to be mentioned in the video had been missing before he was killed.

    It should not surprise anybody if the terrorists decide to manipulate pictures, clone another Shekau or upload a pre-recorded video all in a bid to prove invincible. As far as we are concerned, the individual who was appearing in video and claiming to be the leader of the terrorist group was killed in the Kondunga battle in September.

    The resemblance of the corpse and that of the eccentric character was incontrovertible. His identity was equally corroborated by people who knew him before we announced his death. So, while waiting to see the new video before any further statement, our message to them is