Tag Archives: Abubakar Shekau

Nigerian Army commence hunt for “the real Abubakar Shekau”

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Security agencies have begun a manhunt for “the real Abubakar Shekau,” the fugitive Boko Haram leader, following the military’s destruction of the Islamic sect’s spiritual base hitherto located in camp Zairo in the Sambisa forest, Borno State.

The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, who gave the indication after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in the Presidential Villa yesterday, vowed that the military would soon close in on “the real Shekau” who, he said, has continued to evade arrest with the aid of masks and other forms of disguise.

Shekau has been reportedly killed or fatally wounded no fewer than three times by Nigerian security forces but he always manages to ‘resurrect’, days or months later in video or audio recordings, claiming to be alive and well.

“There could have been so many Shekaus but we are looking for the real one. He has been using mask to portray Shekau in one incident or the other to give an impression that he has been killed so that we will relax, but we will not relax. We are on him,” the minister said.

The minister said the military has in the bid to effect the arrest, already captured Sambisa forest and currently “dominated the whole stronghold where they used to be.”

He said the military was acting on a presidential directive to ensure that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and other Nigerians in the area return to their homes and farms, experience peace and tranquility as well as go about their normal businesses.

Meanwhile, the Borno State commandant of Nigeria Security Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Ibrahim Abdullahi, said that two Boko Haram spies and a supplier were arrested along with eight other suspected vandals and merchants for allegedly re-reselling food supplies meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.

Parading the suspects yesterday in Maiduguri, Abdullahi said that Ali Mustapha was sent on a mission by a Boko Haram Commander to spy on Maiduguri metropolis and report back to their base in Abadam of the Lake Chad region.

Also, Mustapha, a 17-year-old Boko Haram suspect claimed to have been forced to kill 13 people in Chikingudu Forest in Kukawa Local Government area of Borno State, when he was held captive for three years by insurgents.

He also confessed that he was sent by Boko Haram terrorists to assess the situations in the metropolis on Baga Road, Maiduguri Monday Market (MMM) and the Custom area.

Men of the command arrested the suspect near the Bakassi IDPs camp, Maiduguri. His parents were also identified as IDPs taking refuge at the camp.

 

Source: The Guardian

I’m alive, says Boko Haram’s Abubakar Shekau in new audio

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Abubakar Shekau says he is alive and still the leader of Islamist sect Boko Haram, denying reports he is dead, according to a new audio message quoted on social media on Sunday.

 

Social media feed of jihad monitoring site Site Intelligence quoted a new audio message released from Shekau denying reports that he is unable to serve as leader.

 

There have been several claims by Nigeria’s military that Shekau has been killed over the last few years but he keeps resurfacing in new videos or it could be “impostors” posing with the same name, security sources have said.

 

Last week Chad’s President Idriss Deby said Boko Haram leader Shekau was wounded and has been replaced as leader by Mahamoud Daoud, adding that Shekau went to Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, after he was wounded.

 

Deby said the new Boko Haram leader, whom little is known about, was open to the idea of talks with Abuja.

 

“Infidel media published that I’m dead, or sick and can’t speak, this is an utter lie.” Rita Katz, director of Site Intelligence posted on her social media site quoting Shekau as saying to ISIS leader, Baghdadi.

“If this was true how is that I can speak now?” message signed as ISIS head of west Africa province.

 

Shekau’s last video appearance was in February, when a person claiming to be him — analysts believe he may have been impersonated — threatened to disrupt Nigeria’s presidential elections held the following month.

 

The group has released at least five videos since then but Shekau has not appeared in any of them.

 

Source: PM News

 

You Won’t Believe Who Made TIME’s List Of Most Influential People

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Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau has been named in the Time Magazine annual 100 influential people in the world list.

In a release on Thursday by the magazine, Shekau described as “Scourge of Africa”  was named under the leaders category.

A brief profile of Shekau reads:

“Shekau, who is believed to be in his 30s, began to stage increasingly daring kidnapping and killing raids on schools, churches and mosques thought by Boko Haram to be violating their interpretation of Islam. The taking of over 200 schoolgirls in April 2014 brought Boko Haram into the international spotlight.

“By most accounts, Boko Haram has killed more than 10,000 people and is spreading into neighboring countries. Shekau’s latest action may finally summon a U.S. response: he has publicly aligned his group with ISIS, the terrorist group that holds territory in Syria and Iraq and has expanded its reach into Yemen and Libya.”