The chief of Nigerian militant company Boko Haram killed himself in a combat in opposition to its rival organization, Islamic State West Africa Province, AFP pronounced bringing up an audioclip received on Sunday. The affirmation from the Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP, got here weeks after reviews emerged that Boko Haram’s chief Abubakar Shekau had died.
“Shekau favored to be humiliated withinside the hereafter to getting humiliated on earth,” stated a voice comparable to ISWAP chief Abu Musab al-Barnawi. “He killed himself immediately with the aid of using detonating an explosive.”
Two unidentified folks acquainted with al-Barnawi instructed Reuters, which additionally had get admission to to the recording, that the voice at the recording became that of the ISWAP chief.
Shekau’s loss of life, however, has now no longer been showed with the aid of using Boko Haram. The Nigerian navy has stated it became investigating the claim.
Boko Haram is a set that won interest after abducting greater than 270 schoolgirls from Nigeria’s Chibok city in 2014. The kidnappings had sparked a international marketing campaign for the go back of the schoolgirls, which became sponsored with the aid of using many inclusive of former First Lady of the US Michelle Obama. ISWAP became formerly part of Boko Haram however had break up in 2016 and pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State.
In the audio, al-Barnawi stated that the organization had despatched out combatants to Boko Haram’s enclave withinside the Sambisa woodland and had engaged Shekua in a firefight. “From there he retreated and escaped, ran and roamed the trees for 5 days,” the voice at the audiotape stated. “However, the combatants saved looking and attempting to find him earlier than they had been capable of discover him.”
The ISWAP chief stated that when locating Shekau withinside the bush, its combatants entreated him and his fans to repent however the Boko Haram chief refused and killed himself.
“Abubakar Shekau, God has judged him with the aid of using sending him to heaven,” al-Barnawi stated.
Political analysts stated that Shekau’s loss of life should give up the contention among the 2 groups, permitting Islamic ISWAP to soak up Boko Haram combatants and consolidate its maintain on territory in northeastern Nigeria, consistent with Reuters.
However, the information approximately Shekau’s loss of life isn’t new as he has been pronounced killed on many events withinside the remaining 12 years however had emerged later in videos.
Shekau had led the transformation of Boko Haram from an underground Islamic sect in 2009 to a full-fledged insurgency that killed abducted and looted its manner throughout northeast Nigeria. So far, the organization has killed greater than 3,000 humans and pressured 2 million (20 lakh) out in their homes.
