Dreaded Nigerian terrorist group, Boko Haram, now has a new leader - Mahamat Daoud. Who is he? Nobody knows, just yet.
The revelation was made by Chad President Idriss Deby, who declared on Tuesday that the military efforts to cripple the group have yielded fruit and by the end of the year, the terror outfit would be dismantled, Mail & Guardian Africa reported.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the 55th anniversary of Chad's independence, Deby said: "Boko Haram is decapitated. There are little groups (of Boko Haram members) scattered throughout east Nigeria, on the border with Cameroon. It is within our power to definitively overcome Boko Haram."
Deby, without giving much details said that Boko Haram was no longer led by the notorious radical terrorist - Abubakar Shekau. "There is someone called Mahamat Daoud who is said to have replaced Abubakar Shekau and he wants to negotiate with the Nigerian government." Deby said that he was against negotiatingwith terrorists.
There is not much information available on the new Boko Haram leader - Mahamat Daoud. Jonathan Hill, a reader in the Defence Studies Department at London's King's College, who monitors the activities of Boko Haram, told The Telegraph that he has never heard of anyone by the name of Mahamat Daoud.
"But there are a number of characters claiming to represent different factions within Boko Haram, and their bona fides are often hard to verify."
In the meantime, there is growing speculation that former Boko Haram leader Shekau was killed by the Nigerian army, or he has fled the country.
