Nigeria’s military claimed yesterday to have seriously injured Boko Haram’s elusive leader Abubakar Shekau and killed other commanders in an air strike on the Islamist group’s forest stronghold.
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“The air interdiction took place last week Friday 19th August 2016, while the terrorists were performing Friday rituals at Taye village, Gombale general area within Sambisa forest, Borno State”.
Usman also said three Boko Haram commanders Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, were confirmed dead with several others wounded. Simultaneously, the military believes that Boko Haram was using fighters who resembled Abubakar Shekau to impersonate him after he was deemed dead.
Shekau previously pledged allegiance to ISIS in March 2015, and the terrorist organisation appointed the previous spokesperson for Boko Haram Abu Musab Al-Barnawi as the new head of the movement at the beginning of August.
Barnawi’s appointment was contained in a magazine issued by the ISIL to which Boko Haram pledged allegiance in March previous year.
There was no immediate reaction from Boko Haram, which communicates with the media only by videos.
The military released the statement on Tuesday, although it didn’t specify how it got the information.
Earlier in August the United States government pledged $37 million in aid for victims of Boko Haram as fears of a starvation mounted in the ravaged Lake Chad region.
Kerry praised the Sultan of Sokoto, spiritual leader of Nigeria’s Muslims, for his work preaching tolerance and bringing together interfaith groups “to do the hard work of pushing back against extremism”.
This is not the first time Nigerian forces have claimed to have killed Shekau.
The UN children’s fund (UNICEF) says some 49,000 Nigerian children could die of malnutrition in the country’s troubled northeast this year if they are not provided with humanitarian aid. Who are the violent jihadists Boko Haram and what are the trying to achieve? Washington blocked arms sales to Mr. Buhari’s predecessor Goodluck Jonathan, partly over human-rights concerns such as treatment of captured insurgents.
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Speaking at the 18th Combat Service Support Training Week of the Nigerian Army Corps of Supply and Transport in Benin City, Governor Oshiomhole said that the army has gone beyond its call of duty in protecting the territorial integrity of the nation to also ensuring internal security.
