Nigeria’s Boko Haram ‘has new leader’

The Nigerian-based Islamist militant group Boko Haram has a new leader, Chad’s President Idriss Deby says.

He did not say what had happened to Abubakar Shekau, but said he had been replaced by Mahamat Daoud.

Mr Shekau has not featured in the group’s recent videos, leading to speculation that he has been killed.

Mr Deby, whose troops have been involved in battling Boko Haram, said Mr Daoud was open to dialogue with the Nigerian government.

The BBC’s Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says that last year, the Chadian leader was said to be brokering peace talks with Boko Haram.

But the negotiations never happened and were widely seen as a sham so some analysts will question how much credence to give to Mr Deby’s latest comments about the jihadist group, he adds.