The “Islamic State” affiliated Boko Haram’s new leader is Abu Musab al-Barnawi, according to the jihadist online weekly al-Naba.
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The newspaper identified Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the new “Wali”, or governor, of its so-called West Africa Province.
Al-Barnawi is also said to have promised that attacks on mosques and Muslims would not occur under his rule as it did while former leader, Abubakar Shekau was in charge.
Although Ansaru is a splinter of Boko Haram, Otto said that the two groups reintegrated in the Nigerian-Cameroon border region, where they exchange resources and militants “towards a common goal”.
Boko Haram has fought to establish a strict Islamic state in northern Nigeria since 2009, and killed an estimated 20,000 people.
And a Nigerian security analyst said he believed Shekau was still alive, but that IS may be seeking to clean up Boko Haram’s reputation among jihadists, by ousting a leader seen as disorganised and unreliable. The magazine did not mention the whereabouts of the previous Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.
Before 2015, a swathe of land in northeast Nigeria around the size of Belgium was under the control of Boko Haram, but the group was pushed out early a year ago by Nigerian government forces and its allies.
He added, “To state the facts: the United Kingdom government does not give development aid to the Nigerian administration for use in military operations against Boko Haram”.
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.
Known for his blustery, braggart manner, he has been declared killed by Nigerian forces several times, only to reappear in Boko Haram propaganda videos.
When he appeared in a Boko Haram video in January 2015 as the group’s spokesman, he wore a turban and his face was blurred out and it was filmed as a sit-down studio interview.
In June, a senior US general said Boko Haram had fractured internally, with a big group splitting away from Shekau over his failure to adhere to guidance from ISIS.
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19-year-old Amina Ali Darsha, one of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014, was found wandering in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno state in May, 2016.
