Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said Sunday that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is "wounded", in his first comments on military claims that the jihadi leader was injured in an attack. Nigeria's armed forces said on Tuesday that Shekau had been wounded in an air strike on Boko Haram's forest stronghold, but released no further statement or evidence confirming his condition.
"We learnt that in an air strike by the Nigeria Air Force he was wounded," Buhari said in a statement from Nairobi, where he is attending a development conference.
"Indeed their top hierarchy and lower cadre have a problem," Buhari said. "They are not holding any territory and they have split to small groups attacking soft targets."
Buhari said that Shekau had been "edged out" of the group, adding credence to claims that Islamic State (IS)-appointed Abu Musab al-Barnawi was now in charge of the insurgency.