Nigeria’s Boko Haram Confirms Reports on Death of Its Chief

By Staff, Agencies

Abubakar Shekau, who gained notoriety after kidnapping nearly 300 schoolgirls in 2014, killed himself last month rather than surrender after Daesh [Arabic for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL’ group]-allied rivals attacked his base camp in northeast Borno state, security sources said.

Nigeria's Boko Haram terrorist group confirmed the death of its chief Abubakar Shekau, who, according to sources, died during infighting with a rival Daesh-allied faction, a video message from its presumed new commander shows.

In the short video in Arabic, top Boko Haram commander Bakura Modu, also known as ‘Sahaba,’ urged his faction's commanders to remain loyal despite the loss of their commander.

Shekau's death was seen a major shift in Nigeria's conflict, though Daesh has recently emerged as the dominant force in the more than decade-long terrorist insurgency in the country's northeast.

The video, provided to AFP news agency by a source close to Boko Haram and confirmed to be Bakura Modu by another local source, illustrates that terrorist infighting is far from over in Africa's most populous nation.

In an audio, Daesh commander Abu Musab al Barnawi had already claimed Shekau killed himself while on the run from Daesh terrorists.

The undated Boko Haram video shows Bakura flanked by scores of armed fighters in formation as he addresses the camera, in what is traditionally a terrorist group's way of presenting a new leader.

More than 40,000 people have been killed and over two million displaced from their homes due to Boko Haram and other terrorist groups’ crimes since the conflict in northeastern Nigeria began in 2009.