In 2012, he was added to the US State Department’s specially designated global terrorists list with a bounty of million placed on him.
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Nigeria’s military claimed today 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.
Claims by the army that it has killed Shekau have turned out to be false on at least five previous occasions. “Several other terrorists were also wounded”.
In return, Buhari thanked the U.S. for its assistance in fighting Boko Haram and pledged to continue his anti-graft war “according to the rule of law”.
The burgeoning crisis has forced Unicef to revise its funding needs to $308m to help support people affected by Boko Haram in four countries that border Lake Chad – Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. Islamic caliphate and administering sharia punishments…
Islamic State, to which Boko Haram pledged allegiance past year, declared he was no longer the leader of their west African franchise, putting a former spokesman in his place. Shekau later appeared to contradict that account in a video message of his own.
“Those Boko Haram terrorists commanders confirmed dead include Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, amongst others”.
In the last 18 months Boko Haram has lost most of the territory it had controlled after being pushed back in an offensive by the forces of Nigeria and its neighbours.
Mr Kerry praised the efforts of Nigeria’s armed forces, which have undergone reform under the new president, Muhammadu Buhari, who swept to power a year ago on a ticket to tackle endemic corruption.
Greater military coordination with neighboring Cameroon and Chad and help from the USA have pushed the jihadists to withdraw deep into the Sambisa forest in northeastern Nigeria in recent months.
“So to start with, it is essential to build and rebuild trust in government, trust in the military, trust in law enforcement community, wherever that trust has been diminished”, he said.
Nigerian government officials say they’re in contact with the group. However, the USA withdrew military support from the previous Nigerian government, under Goodluck Jonathan, over concerns about a poor human rights record.
But the new administration argues its human rights record has improved significantly enough to lift the blockade. The US Congress has yet to approve the sale, however.
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The Nigerian Army needs to note that it is not very important that Nigerians are fed with the news of Shekau’s death, when it can not accurately confirm if truly he is dead or not. “His administration has taken important steps to prevent the theft of public funds and to recover stolen assets”.
