By our reporter| Uncertainty is the watchword as speculation continues over the whereabouts of Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram sect, reportedly killed during a face-off with fighters of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Citing an intelligence report, various publications reported that the Boko Haram leader lost his life after a fierce gun battle with ISWAP fighters.
In a report on the incident, HumanAngle said some ISWAP commanders were killed alongside Shekau.
The platform said ISWAP fighters in gun trucks had invaded Sambisa forest, a stronghold of the late Shekau’s group, on Wednesday, and Shekau was forced to surrender after his men were overpowered.
They had reportedly asked the Boko Haram leader to relinquish power but he was said to have opted to take his life rather than doing so.
“After his bodyguards were subdued, Shekau surrendered and engaged in hours-long meeting with the ISWAP fighters. During the parley, he was asked to voluntarily relinquish power and order his fighters in other areas to declare bai’a (allegiance) to ISWAP’s authority. They had expected Shekau to issue a statement.
“Sources within the insurgency, however, said that Shekau who secretly had a suicide vest on eventually blew himself up alongside everyone present during the negotiations. The identities of the people within ISWAP’s leadership who lost their lives to the explosion remain unclear at this time,” HumanAngle said in its report.
-Boko Haram leader ‘badly wounded’ in clashes with rivals – AFP
However, a report by AFP, quoting two intelligence sources, claims that Boko Haram leader was seriously wounded after trying to kill himself to avoid capture during clashes with rival Islamic State-allied jihadists in the north of the country.
According to the report, after a series of clashes, Shekau and some of his men were surrounded on Wednesday by ISWAP jihadists in Boko Haram’s Sambisa forest stronghold, where they demanded he surrender, one intelligence source said.
“To avoid capture, Shekau shot himself in the chest and the bullet pierced his shoulder,” the source said. “He was badly injured.”
Some fighters managed to escape with him to an unknown destination, the source added.
A second intelligence source said Shekau was critically wounded after detonating explosives in the house where he was holed up with his men.
“We are investigating,” Nigeria’s army spokesman Mohammed Yerima told AFP by text, asked about those reports.
Shekau’s Boko Haram faction and fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) had been battling in northeastern Borno state, where ISWAP has become the dominant force in Nigeria’s more than decade-long jihadist insurgency.
We’re yet to get information on Shekau’s Death – Military
The Nigerian military on Thursday said it does not have information on Shekau.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Brig.-Gen. Bernard Onyeuko, told a national publication via a text message that he didn’t have information on that.
“Sorry, I don’t have information on that,” Brig.-Gen. Onyeuko said in the text message.
Shekau’s reign
After the death of the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, in 2009, Shekau emerged the spiritual leader of Boko Haram. Several times in the past, Shekau was rumoured to have been killed and fatally wounded during military operations.
But he subsequently debunked the claims by releasing videos and audios.
Deep disagreement among Boko Haram leaders had led to confrontation with Shekau.
Citing Shekau’s rigidity, Abu Musab, a son of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf, and a top lieutenant, Mamman Nur, broke away from him.
The break-way faction graduated to ISWAP and moved to Alagano and Lake Chad Basin, where they reigned.
It was not the first time Shekau has been reported killed or seriously wounded. If confirmed, though, his loss could be a huge blow to a jihadist group already weakened by air strikes on its bases and defections of his fighters.
With agency report
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