Middle East & Africa | Boko Haram

Shadow army

Nigeria has surprisingly little idea of what it is fighting against

|LAGOS

HOW many times can one man die? At least four, in the case of Abubakar Shekau, the slippery leader of Boko Haram. Nigerian security forces celebrated his demise in 2009, 2013 and 2014, only for him to pop up again, disconcertingly animate, on camera. When Chad’s president said in August that his troops had killed Mr Shekau, the jihadist was resurrected once again, this time with a voice recording. “Woe unto liars that had claimed I am dead,” said the voice. “Nobody can kill me.”

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Shadow army"

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From the September 5th 2015 edition

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