Boko Haram leader denies death or ouster

The leader of Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau said he is alive and still the chief of the Nigeria-based jihadist group, according to a new audio recording released on Sunday.

The global media reported "that I am dead or that I am sick and incapacitated and have lost influence in the affairs of religion," the self-claimed Shekau said in the eight-minute Hausa-language recording.

"It should be understood that this is false. This is indeed a lie. If it were true, my voice wouldn't have been heard, now that I am speaking," he said, denying previous claims by Nigerian military that Shekau had been killed.

Shekau has not appeared in recent videos from Boko Haram since March, which aroused worldwide speculation that he might have been killed or replaced by others.

Chadian President Idriss Deby said last week that the insurgent leader who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) was wounded and replaced by Mahamound Daoud.

Boko Haram, the Nigeria-based group who sought to establish an islamic state, has been terrorizing the Nigerian people and claimed responsibility for thousands of deaths since 2009. The group stepped up its attacks since Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in last May, unleashing a wave of violence that has claimed 800 lives in just two months.

The jihadists have recently extended their attacks into border areas of Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Buhari tasked his military chiefs last week to end the insurgency of Boko Haram within three months. Endi