Nigerian Journalist and a close associate of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, Ahmad Salkida has faulted the viral claims that one of the sect members killed in a recent battle between the sect and the Nigerian Army was the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.
Salkida, on his twitter handle tweeted that the photo being circulated was in no way Shekau, as he had it on good authority that the sect leader was well and alive.
He tweeted thus: ‘’ Mark my words; I have it on good authority that Shekau is well and alive. The picture going round is NOT the person who torments us with this group. ‘’
With this latest tweet from Salkida who is believed to have good relationship with Shekau, the claims by both Nigeria and Cameroonian Army have clearly been put to doubt.
DailyPost recalls that Cameroonian Army had on Sunday released some photos of the man it purportedly killed during a cross boarder attack, claiming victory over the sect. Relatively, Nigerian Army had said it would carry out a DNA test to determine whether the sect leader purportedly killed by its men was the real Abubakar Shekau, and as well claiming a landslide victory over sect.
Ahmed Salkida’s position has further complicated the controversy surrounding the killing of the sect leader as Nigeria and Cameroon authority have continued to disagree over who killed Shekau.
Ahmad Salkida, a Nigerian journalist who now resides in Dubai had previously worked for Daily Trust and Premium Times and reported extensively on Boko Haram. He fled Nigeria to Dubai 2 years ago after being fingered as Boko Haram sympathizer. He said he fled after ‘his life and that of his family became endangered ’
Salkida is the only Nigerian journalist/civilian that allegedly has access to Boko Haram.
In the heat of the abducted Chibok girls, Nigerian government flew Ahmad Salkida back to Nigeria to negotiate with Boko Haram on their behalf. However, the negotiation failed to yield any fruitful result as the girls are still being held hostage. The claim by the both Cameroon and Nigerian Army has further endangered the lives of the abducted Chibok girls, as many fear the sect members may harm the girls in retaliation.
See Salkida’s tweet below:
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