Abubakar Shekau

Shekau is an ethnic Kanuri . He also speaks house , Arabic and English . He claims to be an intellectual and theologian who studied Islam "under the traditional clerical."

Video Shekau posted on the Internet, he often boasted of his invincibility; teased various armies; and declared that he “cannot be stopped,” and “cannot die except by the will of Allah.” He also boasted of owning tanks and other combat vehicles. In his videos, he often used anti-American rhetoric and repeatedly threatened to attack the United States .

In June 2012, the United States Department of State declared Shekau a terrorist, and froze its assets in the United States. In June 2013, the CIA announced a reward of $ 7 million for information that would help in detaining Shekau. In addition, the Nigerian army offered a reward of 50 million naira (approximately 300,000 US dollars) for Shekau.

In 2009, Shekau was injured in the leg during a battle with the Nigerian security forces. After announcing his death, he increased the number of attacks. On his orders in April 2014, more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted , after which he stated ^{[1] [2]} :

He also claimed to have conducted jihad against Christians .

Shekau was born in Niger, although it was also claimed that he was born in the village of Sheko in the state of Yobe in Nigeria. His age is not known exactly - many think he is 34 or 35 years old, while others claim to be over 43.

Shekau was reportedly killed in 2009, but reappeared in less than a year already as the leader of the organization. The Nigerian army also claimed to have killed him during the 2014 battle at Kodung, which lasted from September 12-14. The Armed Forces of Cameroon published a photo and also claimed that their forces killed Shekau in September 2014. In early October 2014, AFP received a video in which Shekau appeared alive, in which he denied information about his death.

Local media suggested that the man killed by Cameroon was a double used for security reasons.

According to the National Post, Nigerian government officials say the real Shekau has long been dead, but understudies continue to appear to perpetuate the Shekau myth of invincibility. His appearance and name is now a "brand name for terrorists." There are inconsistencies between the videos, according to a statement made by Shekau, such as his conversation in different intonations and with varying manners. “In some cases, it seems much heavier or much darker in skin color, and the difference is very different between each person.”

On August 23, 2016, a representative of the Nigeria army said that as a result of airstrikes by the country's air force, Abubakar Shekau was mortally wounded. On August 2, the Islamic State “fired” him from the post of head of the group ^[3] .

On September 2, 2016, the Nigerian Air Force stated that they had destroyed the hospital where the wounded leader of Boko Haram and other militant commanders were. On September 25 of the same year, a video message appeared on the Internet from a person similar to Shekau, in which he stated that his health was “in excellent condition” ^[4] .