He died on Wednesday evening in a civil war between his faction and ISWAP following the invasion of the terror group’s stronghold in the Sambisa forest area.

CONFIRMED: Abubakar #Shekau, One of the longest surviving Jihadist leaders in the world has died after detonating an explosive device to evade arrest or surrender his leadership.

Detailed report by Humangle says #ISWAP took over the #BokoHaram Sambisa enclave following clashes.

— UNCLE DEJI™️ (@DejiAdesogan) May 20, 2021

ISWAP, which had broken away from the Shekau-led Boko Haram faction in 2016 was allied with the Islamic State (ISIS) accused Shekau of brutality towards other Muslims.

HumAngle reported that Shekau was captured and subdued. During a parley, he was asked to voluntarily relinquish power and order his fighters in other areas to declare bai’a (allegiance) to ISWAP’s authority.

Sources within the insurgency, however, said that Shekau who secretly had a suicide vest on eventually blew himself up alongside everyone present during the negotiations.

Apparently, Shekau died while also killing other high ranking members of ISWAP whose identities are still being investigated by reporters.

Shekau had been the leader of Boko Haram since 2009 following the death of the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf. He had been rumoured to have been killed at least four times between July 2009 and Aug. 2015. In Aug. 2016, the Nigerian Air Force claimed he had been “fatally wounded” by military bombardments, but the terror group released a video only a month later showing he was alive and in good health.

What comes next?

The killing of Abubakar Shekau is definitely a blow to terrorism in the Lake-Chad area.

Most Nigerians are celebrating the news on social media. Former senator Shehu Sani tweeted this in response to the reports.

https://twitter.com/ShehuSani/status/1395322669499813893?s=19

ISWAP is led by Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, unlike Shekau his faction does not carry out attacks on the area’s Muslim majority locals, they focus on attacking military targets.

Abu Musab, a son of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf, previously served as the group’s spokesperson.

But he later joined a sub-group of fighters, including top lieutenant Mamman Nur, who broke away due to Shekau’s rigid methods and extreme position on takfir.

The breakaway faction, now known as ISWAP, moved into the Alagarno and Lake Chad Basin, dislodging or taking over Boko Haram assets in the areas and subsequently becoming the dominant terror group in the axis.

The post Abubakar Shekau killed in Boko Haram civil war appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

Several sources reported that ISWAP fighters stormed Boko Haram camps with gun trucks killing most of their commanders and forcing others to swear allegiance and switch sides.

DEVELOPING: Just receive update on #ISWAP faceoff with #BokoHaram. I learnt #ISWAP fighters with over 50 Gun-trucks stormed Sambisa forest, dislodged #Bokoharam field commanders & fighters, & also force them to surrender or get killed. Leader Abubakar Shekau whereabout unknown.

— UNCLE DEJI™️ (@DejiAdesogan) May 18, 2021

The attack is reportedly a move by ISWAP leader Abu Mus’ab Al Barnawi to eliminate his rivals and unify the terrorists under his command.

What is the difference between Boko Haram and ISWAP?

After the death of Boko Haram’s founder Muhammad Yusuf in 2009, the terrorists regrouped under the leadership of Abubakr Shekau who has been the face of the organization since.

In 2014, Shekau allied his group with the Islamic State, which renamed Boko Haram Islamic State West Africa as part of its growing caliphate.

In August 2016, the group apparently split, with an IS video announcing that Mr Shekau had been replaced with Abu Musab al-Barnawi, believed to be a son of Boko Haram’s founder Muhammad Yusuf.

Mr Shekau disputed this, insisting he was still in charge.

ISWAP unlike Boko Haram says it does not attack civilian target focusing mainly on fighting the Nigerian military and the regional alliance formed to fight it.

Boko Haram’s official name is Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad”.

Residents in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where the group had its headquarters, dubbed it Boko Haram.

Loosely translated from the region’s Hausa language, this means “Western education is forbidden”.

The group has been accused of unimaginable brutality even by other terrorist groups.

In 2014, they kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls from Chibuk, an event that attracted global attention.

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