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Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau or his clone, said to have been killed in Konduga last month by Nigerian military has announced that he is alive and will die only when Allah says so.

In a 36-minute video obtained by AFP, Shekau not only debunked reports by Nigerian military that he was dead but said members of his sect were running a Caliphate in the captured towns, north east of Nigeria.

The heavily bearded Shekau, who appeared to be the same as in previous video clips, said report of his death was propaganda by the military.

Apparently reading from a script, Shekau said: “Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath.

“Nothing will kill me until my days are over. I’m still alive. Some people asked you if Shekau has two souls. No, I have one soul, by Allah.

“It is propaganda that is prevalent. I have one soul. I’m an Islamic student.

“I’m the Islamic student whose seminary you burnt… I’m not dead,” he added, apparently referring to the destruction of the group’s mosque in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, in 2009.

“We are running our caliphate, our Islamic caliphate. We follow the Koran… We now practise the injunctions of the Koran in the land of Allah.”

There was however no indication of where or when the video was shot but Shekau was dressed in combat fatigues and black rubber boots, standing on the back of a pick-up truck and firing an anti-aircraft gun into the air while being flanked by four heavily armed, masked fighters.

This is not the first time Nigeria military will claim to have killed Shekau and he would debunk it.

Sometime in 2013, Nigerian troops were said to have killed Boko Haram leader but he debunked the report in a video.

Last week, reports surfaced once again that the man who had been impersonating Shekau had been killed in Konduga after fighting with troops.

Credit: Naij.com