When the JTF made a claim that An "intelligence report" showed that Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram group, may have died between 25 July and 3 August, Lt-Col Sagir Musa said.

Boko Haram, which has waged an insurgency in Nigeria since 2009, has not commented on the statement.The intelligence report suggested that Shekau was shot on 30 June, when soldiers raided a Boko Haram base at Sambisa Forest in north-eastern Nigeria.

Continue reading the main story
Analysis

Andrew Walker
Nigeria analyst
If the news of Abubakar Shekau's killing is verified, it could be a significant moment in the life of the group.

But even if we take the Nigerian military's word for the events, it is clear that killing Shekau is unlikely to be the end of the violence that has torn the north-east of Nigeria apart.

The army said he was killed sometime between 25 July and 3 August. In that period, and in the weeks since, at least 70 people have been killed in bomb and gun attacks. Many in Nigeria take the military's word with a massive pinch of salt - it has reported "top Boko Haram leader killed" before.

The army has just announced it is taking over what has been a Joint Task Force comprised of all branches of the military and police. "It's not clear that the military know what they're doing," a resident in northern Nigeria told me. He won't believe Shekau is dead until they bring more proof.

Is Boko Haram in Nigeria on the back foot?
"Shekau was mortally wounded in the encounter and was sneaked into Amitchide - a border community in Cameroon for treatment... It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August 2013," Col Musa said.
The truth is that no man has come out to debunk the claim. Normally, Shekau always come to denounce this, but since the claim nothing has been heard. This means Shekau is dead.

Perhaps he's dead, else he'd have released a video to prove his existence.

I quite agree with you, if the man is really alive, he would sent out a video;but since JTF claim nothing has been seen. May the foot soldiers accept the terms of government.

If he is not dead,he would hve shown video