President Deby was addressing reporters in N’Djamena on the 55th anniversary celebration of Chad’s independence from France when he declared that Boko Haram has been “decapitated.” He said that the terrorist group has been scattered in small groups across northeastern Nigeria.
“There is someone apparently called Mahamat Daoud who is said to have replaced Abubakar Shekau and he wants to negotiate with the Nigerian government,” Deby said at the ceremony.
Abubakar Shekau took over as the group's leader after the its founder, Muhammad Yusuf, died while in Nigerian police custody in July 2009.
