Boko Haram confirms death of historic leader

The jihadist group Boko Haram confirmed on Wednesday that its historic leader, Abubakar Sekau, had been killed in battles with the rival, extremist Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap).

This announcement was made through a video by Bakura Montou, the so-called “Sahaba”, the new leader of the organization.

In this video, Sahaba, one of Boko Haram’s most prominent leaders, asks Allah to “bless the soul of Sekau” who “died as a witness” and blames the death of Iswap leader Abu Musab for his death. al-Barnawi, whom he describes as “perverted.”

Sahaba speaks Arabic in this message, which stops abruptly in the middle of a sentence, for no apparent reason. Earlier, he called on supporters of the organization to avenge Sekou’s death.

Last week, Iswap, the organization that emerged from the split of Boko Haram in 2016, announced the death of Abubakar Sekau, saying he had committed suicide by detonating the explosives with which he was strapped during clashes in the Sabisa forest. There have been many rumors since mid-May that Secau was dead.

Iswap has grown stronger recently and is now the dominant jihadist organization in northeastern Nigeria, where it is stepping up its attacks on the Nigerian army.

Since 2019, the army has left villages and minor bases to be rearranged into “super-camps”, a strategy that has been criticized for allowing jihadists to move freely in rural areas.