The group named Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who was formerly the spokesman for Boko Haram to replace Abubakar Shekau as the leader of the sect.
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“In the message, Shekau refers to Boko Haram under its previous name, but with some ISIS propaganda elements, as if he wanted to reassure its old combattants and base, without denying his commitment to (its leader Abu Bakr) al-Bagdadi”, he said. He challenged the new leadership announcement in a 10-minute audio message posted on YouTube to let everyone know he was “still around”.
Writing in the June edition of Foreign Policy magazine, analyst Jacob Zenn and fellow author Daveed Gartenstein-Ross wrote that factions of Boko Haram “appear to have significant buyer’s remorse when it comes to the group’s defection to the Islamic State’s camp”.
The targeting of students accounts for its nickname Boko Haram, which means Western education is sinful or forbidden.
He described Boko Haram’s battle against West African states as a war fought by Muslims against “apostates” and “crusaders”.
ISIS objected to these tactics because they targeted Sunni Muslims, the only group of people against whom they do not seek to commit genocide.
Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamic extremists have a new leader who is threatening to bomb churches and kill Christians while ending attacks on mosques and markets used by ordinary Muslims, according to an interview published on Wednesday by the Islamic State group.
Abubakar Shekau’s outburst clearly shows that there are deep disagreements, which could translate into clashes between the foot soldiers loyal to the two leaders. The group attacked Cameroon, Baga and Chad as well.
In the last 18 months, forces of Nigeria and its neighbours have recaptured most of the territory once controlled by Boko Haram.
The group also engaged in several abductions throughout the region including that of the 276 Chibok schoolgirls.
The Ansaru split happened awhile ago, and ISIS’ statement may escalate that fracturing of the Boko Haram movement.
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The Nigerian military, which has retaken most of the land captured by Boko Haram in 2014, told the Nigerian news agency NAP that the news of the group’s new leader was just a cry for attention from a severely weakened organization.
