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Death of Boko Haram leader doesn’t end northeast Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis

Death of Boko Haram leader doesn’t end northeast Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis

DULUE MBACHU ALTHOUGH a seismic event, the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau last month after his base was overrun by a rival jihadist group is unlikely to end an 11-year insurgency in northeastern Nigeria that has upended millions of lives, analysts and aid workers say. Shekau, who led an uncompromising and brutal jihadist campaign, was cornered in his former Sambisa Forest stronghold in Borno State by rival fighters of the breakaway Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP). Although his body is yet to be recovered, both ISWAP and Boko Haram fighters have confirmed that he died after detonating…
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Boko Haram leader’s death confirmed

Boko Haram leader’s death confirmed

A senior cleric with Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram confirmed the death of its leader and urged fighters to stay loyal in its fight against rival Islamic State militants, according to a video seen by Reuters. Bakura Sahalaba, a cleric with the Lake Chad branch of Boko Haram, urged its men to fight on in the video, which appeared on social media after the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) said Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau had died. Three Boko Haram researchers verified its authenticity. ISWAP had said Shekau, one of the world's most notorious extremists, had died around…
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Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead – claim

Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead – claim

THE Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) militant group said in an audio recording heard by Reuters on Sunday that Abubakar Shekau, leader of rival Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram, was dead. Shekau died around May 18 after detonating an explosive device when he was pursued by ISWAP fighters following a battle, a person purporting to be ISWAP leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi said on the audio recording. "Abubakar Shekau, God has judged him by sending him to heaven," he can be heard saying. Two people familiar with al-Barnawi told Reuters the voice on the recording was that of the…
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Abubakar Shekau: battle for supremacy among Islamist groups bodes ill for the Sahel

Abubakar Shekau: battle for supremacy among Islamist groups bodes ill for the Sahel

THE Nigerian military says it is investigating claims that the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is dead. His death has not been independently confirmed. It is also not the first time a claim like this has been made. The reports have nevertheless raised questions about who has the upper hand in the region – Boko Haram or the breakaway Islamic State West Africa Province. Adejuwon Soyinka, The Conversation’s West Africa regional editor, asked Folahanmi Aina, an expert on Boko Haram and security in the Lake Chad Basin region, to analyse the security situation. FOLAHANMI AINA, Doctoral Candidate in Leadership Studies,…
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Nigeria’s military investigates reports of Boko Haram leader’s death

Nigeria’s military investigates reports of Boko Haram leader’s death

CAMILLUS EBOH NIGERIA’S military is investigating reports that the leader of militant Islamist group Boko Haram may have been killed or seriously injured following clashes with rival jihadists, according to an army spokesman. Abubakar Shekau has been the figurehead of an Islamist insurgency that has since 2009 killed more than 30,000 people, forced around 2 million people to flee their homes and spawned one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. A number of reports published on Thursday in Nigeria media, citing intelligence sources, said Shekau was seriously hurt or killed after his insurgents clashed with members of Islamic State in…
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