The Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) has announced in an audio message that Abubakar Sekau, the leader of the rival Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, is dead.
Secau died around May 18 after setting off an explosive device while being chased by ISWAP fighters, a man allegedly the group’s leader, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, was quoted as saying in the recording.
Two sources confirmed to Reuters that the voice heard actually belonged to the ISWAP leader.
On May 20, sources close to Nigeria’s intelligence services reported that Abubakar Sekau had been “seriously injured” as he attempted suicide to avoid falling into the hands of rival jihadists as he was surrounded in his stronghold, the Sabisa forest.
Many Nigerian media outlets have claimed that Sekau is dead. In the past, the Nigerian military has repeatedly announced the “death” of Boko Haram leader.
For more than ten years, northeastern Nigeria has been a battleground for jihadists. The clashes, which began in 2009 when Boko Haram launched its first attacks, have claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people and displaced 2 million. Sekau took over the leadership of the organization after the death of its founder, Mohamed Youssef, in prison in 2010. In 2013-14, the organization expanded alarmingly, taking control of much of Borno State.
In 2014, Boko Haram men abducted about 300 teenage schoolgirls from a Chibok boarding school, sparking strong reactions around the world. At the same time, the violence spread to Niger, Chad and Cameroon. The following year, thanks to a joint military operation by the countries of the region, the organization was forced to retreat and in 2016 it split: the “historic” section, under Sekau, controls the area around the Sabisa forest and the adjacent Iswap, which is adjacent in the Islamic State, operates around Lake Chad, between Chad and Niger as well as in the Alagarno Forest. Both organizations are fighting against the Nigerian army and sporadically clashing with each other. In recent years Iswap has become stronger, gaining ground and launching more advanced attacks. Instead, Secau’s team seems to be losing ground. Recently, the Nigerian army intensified its operations against it and many of its fighters lost their lives.
