{"id":22399,"date":"2021-06-07T07:21:56","date_gmt":"2021-06-07T07:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kumasionlinegh.com\/?p=22399"},"modified":"2021-06-07T07:21:57","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T07:21:57","slug":"boko-haram-leader-abubakar-shekau-is-dead-rival-militants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kumasionlinetv.com\/?p=22399","title":{"rendered":"Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau is dead \u2013 Rival militants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The leader of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has killed himself, rival Islamist militants said in an audio recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In audio obtained by news agencies, the Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) said Shekau died detonating explosives on himself after a battle between the two groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shekau was reported dead last month and has been reported killed before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neither Boko Haram nor the Nigerian government have confirmed his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did the recording say?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In the undated audio recording, a voice thought to be that of Iswap leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi said Shekau \u201ckilled himself instantly by detonating an explosive\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iswap fighters hunted down the warlord and offered him the chance to repent and join them, al-Barnawi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShekau preferred to be humiliated in the afterlife than getting humiliated on earth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When reports of Shekau\u2019s death in a clash circulated last month, the Nigerian army said it would investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Army spokesman Brig Gen Mohammed Yerima told the BBC at the time the army was looking into what happened, but that it would not issue a statement until it got definitive proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One journalist with close links to security agencies said that Shekau died when Iswap attacked Boko Haram positions in the Sambisa forest, north-east Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has been reported dead numerous times before, only to resurface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is Abubakar Shekau?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After taking the reins of Boko Haram after its founder died in police custody in 2009, Shekau led its transformation from an underground sect to a deadly insurgency that has swept north-east Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Boko
Shekau used propaganda videos to promote his violent ideology<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Under Shekau, Boko Haram staged bombings, kidnappings and prison breaks across the region. And from 2014, it began overrunning towns in a bid to create an Islamic State under Sharia law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believed to be in his early- to mid-40s, Shekau backed a bloody jihadist campaign in propaganda videos that drew comparisons to Osama Bin Laden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI enjoy killing\u2026 the way I enjoy slaughtering chickens and rams,\u201d he said in one 2012 video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since he took charge, more than 30,000 people have been killed and over two million displaced from their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group gained global attention after its\u00a02014 kidnapping of hundreds of girls from a school in Chibok, in Borno state, sparking the #BringBackOurGirls movement. Many of them are still missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong>BBC<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Send your news stories to\u00a0dannyboy744@gmail.com<\/a>\u00a0and via WhatsApp on +233 266777777<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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