He then described al-Barnawi and his followers as polytheist.
Advertisement
The Director of Defence Information, (DHQ), Brig.
Human rights group Amnesty International said till a year ago 8,000 men and boys had died in Nigerian military custody after being detained as suspected militants.
Its pledge of loyalty to the Islamic State previous year prompted uncertainty as to what that relationship would mean for either terrorist group in terms of actual financial or logistical support.
The group’s barbaric actions under Shekau’s leadership sparked a breakaway faction, Ansaru.
“We are just focused on clearing the remnants of the insurgents that are scattered around”.
“There are some indicators that they do want to avoid bad blood they are concerned about their brand in that area”, he said. If it is not Boko Haram that is slaughtering our people it is the Fulani herdsmen.
The group recently pledged allegiance to Daesh, which is operating mainly in Syria and Iraq. ISIS has several offshoots now in other countries, including Libya.
The confusion appears to have arisen from the latest edition of IS’ online weekly magazine Al-Naba, in which there was an interview with Barnawi when he was named as Boko Haram’s new leader.
In March 2016, Boko Haram was believed to have released a video featuring Shekau.
Shekau was often filmed in the open, surrounded by fighters, loudly proclaiming his threats, victories and giving rambling ideological lectures.
Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Lagos, quoted security sources as saying that the announcement was a sign of desperation among Boko Haram fighters and an effort to reinvent themselves.
The Defence Headquarters also spoke in the same vein. The splinter operates in north-eastern Nigeria and, unlike Boko Haram, does not attack Muslim civilians and does not force women and children to carry out suicide bombing missions. “Consequently, the Federal Government should urgently direct the intelligence agencies, the military, law enforcement and citizens to be on full alert to avert spectacular terrorist attacks on Nigerian soil”, he said.
“Preliminary investigation shows that the suspected terrorist kingpin was arrested as he was trying to flee to Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, from Sambisa forest”.
Advertisement
The Security analyst urged all Nigerians and opposing politicians to support the Federal Government in the fight against Boko Haram and ISIS.
