Reports had it yesterday that the deadly terrorist group, Islamic State Jihadist group, ISIS, had replaced Shekau with Abu Musab al- Barnawi.
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As reported by CBS News, the most likely explanation is that there has been a split in Boko Haram and al-Barnawi is the leader of the new faction that is linked to Islamic State.
Boko Haram had recently sworn allegiance with ISIS.
Yet hunger and malnutrition rates across the border in Chad, where poverty and desertification have been compounded by Boko Haram violence, are troubling, said Pascal Nshimirimana, Chad program manager for the International Medical Corps (IMC).
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.
While repeatedly acknowledging the legitimacy of Baghdadi, Shekau accused the Daesh leadership of ignoring correspondence in which he explained the situation within the group, adding: “We are therefore shocked to read the contents of the said [Barnawi] interview”. Counterterrorism operations, set in motion by President Muhamadu Buhari, have succeded in reducing the number of Boko Haram attacks in the country.
The Daesh group has purportedly appointed a new leader for its Nigeria-based affiliate, Boko Haram.
He became Boko Haram leader after Nigerian security forces killed the group’s founding chief Mohammed Yusuf in 2009, sparking an insurgency that has left 20 000 people dead and forced 2,6 million people to flee their homes.
Shekau, who wears military uniform and waves an AK-47 assault rifle in propaganda videos posted online, said he sent letters to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), but its leaders had stopped replying.
The group has lost some of its power since 2014 when Nigerian forces regained territory, leaving the group with less capacity to fight back.
“That is where I am, to them, a Muslim can dwell in the society and do his marketing compromising core foundations”.
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Abubakar said that the military was singularly focused on the complete destruction of the terror group, irrespective of leadership and administrative changes.
