Leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, has been killed in Borno State.
He was reportedly killed in the last week of August this year.
Al-Barnawi was the son of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf who was also killed by security forces in 2009 when he launched a war against the Nigerian state, Daily Trust reports.
More than one thousand people died during the uprising.
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In 2016, the Islamic State (IS) militant group announced Al-Barnawi as its West African affiliate, Boko Haram, which Abubakar Shekau hitherto led.
Shekau took over as the group’s leader after the death of Mohammed Yusuf.
Before his dethronement, Shekau had sworn allegiance to IS in March 2015. He killed thousands of people and destroyed countless communities during his reign of terror that extended to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
His dislodgement in 2016 heralded the rise of the relatively young Al-Barnawi as ISWAP leader and, at the same time, the split of the terrorist group into two factions.
It was reported that ISIS partly chose Al-Barnawi as the leader in the Lake Chad region to punish Shekau, who reportedly “violated all known norms” and retain the confidence of Boko Haram fighters who were loyal to his father, Yusuf, amid threats from other factional groups.
Al-Barnawi was also said to have been trained by ISIS for years ahead of his ascension to power.
Shekau, who was declared wanted by the United States with a price on his head, had led the Boko Haram faction with solid footing around the Sambisa forest and part of the Mandara Mountains bordering the Cameroon Republic.
On the other hand, Al-Barnawi sustained vicious attacks, especially on military facilities and troops in the Lake Chad region, while at the same time strategising on how to subdue Shekau.
He controlled large swathes of territory in Northern Borno, imposed taxes on the local population and earned high income from fishing asides from the financial and material support he got from ISIS.
Al-Barnawi’s fighters had also destroyed many military super camps in Dikwa, Monguno, Abadam and Marte in Borno; and other military facilities around Geidam in Yobe State.
He equally established many cells on the Lake Chad islands and surrounding villages from where his fighters launched attacks on Nigeria, Niger and Chad.
His death in August, after that of Shekau in May 2021, was seen as a turning point in the war against terror, even as security experts had called for a sustained offensive towards decimating the two rival groups to have a lasting peace after twelve years of uncertainty and carnage.
Despite Boko Haram fighters, nothing should be taken for a ride because many fighters still believe in the course they are pursuing and could recover lost grounds if they get the slightest opportunity.
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