The death of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram, has been confirmed by a rival extremist faction that says it carried out the killing on direct orders from Islamic State (Isis) leadership in the Middle East.
Shekau died last month after detonating an explosive device while being pursued by fighters from the Islamic State West African Province (Iswap), who had stormed the Sambisa forest in north-eastern Nigeria. His death both delights and embarrasses Nigerian and international security services, which spent a decade hunting him.
In an audio tape obtained by the news website Humangle, Iswap leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi stated that Shekau’s death came in response to orders from Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, the new leader of Isis. Barnawi said Shekau had committed "unimaginable terrorism" and that Allah set out brave soldiers after receiving orders.
Barnawi’s faction broke away from Boko Haram in 2016 over personal, religious and strategic disputes. Isis later adopted it as its affiliate in the region after Shekau proved impossible to control. Shekau initially escaped the attack but was found and refused to surrender. Most of his followers are thought to have disbanded or switched allegiance.
Shekau was responsible for using young women as suicide bombers and for the 2014 abduction of 300 female students. His unpredictability and extreme violence led to orders for his elimination. His death leaves Iswap as the dominant extremist group in the Lake Chad basin.
