as chief of the jihadist group in an audio recording released Sunday
attributed to him by security experts.
In the eight-minute Hausa-language message, Abubakar Shekau rebuffed
claims by Chadian leader Idriss Deby that he had been replaced and
called the president a "hypocrite" and a "tyrant".
"It is indeed all over the global media of infidels that I am dead or
that I am sick and incapacitated and have lost influence in the
affairs of religion," he said in the recording released on social
media.
"It should be understood that this is false. This is indeed a lie. If
it were true, my voice wouldn't have been heard, now that I am
speaking."
Deby declared on August 12 that efforts to combat neighbouring
Nigeria's Boko Haram jihadists had succeeded in "decapitating" the
group and would be wrapped up "by the end of the year".
Deby told reporters in the capital N'Djamena Boko Haram was no longer
led by the fearsome Shekau and that his successor, whom he named as
Mahamat Daoud, was open to talks.
"Gratitude be to Allah and with his help, I have not disappeared. I am
still alive and I am not dead. And I will not die until my time
appointed by Allah is up," Shekau said in the message.
The SITE Intelligence Group verified the authenticity of the message,
and an AFP correspondent with extensive experience of reporting Boko
Haram said it exactly resembled Shekau's voice in previous recordings.
– Taunts –
Shekau's absence from Boko Haram videos in recent months has fuelled
speculation that he might have been killed or wounded.
He has not spoken publicly since he pledged allegiance to the Islamic
State (IS) group in an audio recording released on March 7.
The jihadist commander refers to himself in the new recording for the
first time as "leader of the west Africa wing" of IS and pays homage
to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, referring to him as the "Caliph of
Muslims".
He taunted Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power on
May 29 vowing to crush Boko Haram and ordered his military chiefs last
week to end the insurgency within three months.
"This ostentatious person, a liar — I mean Buhari, who raised arms to
crush us in three months. You Buhari, why didn't you say in three
years?" Shekau demanded.
"We will certainly fight you by the grace of Allah until we establish
Allah's law everywhere on Earth."
Boko Haram has been waging a six-year uprising against the Nigerian
state, which has claimed more than 15,000 lives.
The jihadists have repeatedly extended their northeastern insurgency
into border areas of Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
In recent weeks suicide bombers, many of them women, have staged
several attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.
The four countries, plus Benin, have pledged troops towards a regional
8,700-strong force aimed at ending the insurgency and due to deploy
within days.
– 'Global terrorist' –
Speculation about Shekau's condition — and even his true identity —
has been rampant in Nigeria for years.
The wanted Islamist leader's whereabouts are unknown, but he has in
the past made himself heard whenever he has been proclaimed dead.
Some experts and Nigerian security officials insist "Shekau" is a
composite character, with different militant fighters stepping into
the role at different times.
The original Abubakar Shekau — the son of poor farmers who became
radicalised in a series of theological schools before taking over Boko
Haram in 2010 — actually died months, or possibly several years ago,
according to the security services.
But the United States and other experts have questioned the
credibility of that claim.
"Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath," the
insurgent leader, who has been sanctioned by the UN Security Council
and declared a "global terrorist" by the United States, said in a
video released in October last year.
He issued a similarly boastful denial in 2013 after the military
claimed he may have died from a gunshot wound.
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