Is Boko Haram's Shekau Really Dead?

When the news of the death of Sheikh Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram sect, broke Monday, one of the questions on my lips as well as the lips of many Nigerians was ‘Are you sure he is dead?’...I was sceptical about the whole story...I'm still...



The doubt arose from claims and counter-claims regarding Shekau’s status and whereabouts in recent times as reports of cracks and division in the group came out. Early August, Shekau was reported to have been shot and deposed by members of the sect. A new leader, Abu Zamira Mohammed, who is the sect’s leader negotiating cease-fire agreement with the Federal Government, was appointed new leader by the group’s Shura Council.

A Security Consultant, Captain Umar Ali (Rtd) has disclosed the timeline used by the Joint Task Force (JTF) in concluding that the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, is killed. He has revealed this information at a Channels Television program. Confirming the possibility of the sect leader death, he still said that “there would be room of doubt” on the part of the people.

The JTF in Borno State, Operation Restore Order, reported that Abubakar Shekau might have died as a result of injuries sustained during a recent military onslaught on his group, but this hypothesis is yet do be tested. The verification process is the possible explanation for the time lag before the information was released, Captain Ali said.

He further explained that information is passed through the 'intelligence cycle' before it is released. Besides, the JTF used ‘social indicators’ to confirm their speculations.

“After the Sambisa attack, we saw a kind of withdrawal. We saw the terrorists’ attacks abating greatly. There was virtually a lull before Kano came up. And added to that, in camps that were raided, things were discovered that gave the impression that these people left here in a hurry. A lot of things were abandoned and they moved. Those they couldn’t go with, they burnt outrightly, themselves. So it’s possible that the leader was injured and they had to abandon ship. And they crossed over to Amitchide and tried to patch him up but he did not survive,” Captain explained the possible order of events.

Captain Ali also said the Borno mosque attack could have been retaliation for the loss.

He then said that the current situation poses opportunities for all the 'stakeholders' - the Boko Haram sect, law enforcement agencies and the government, and urged the government and security agencies to move from dynamic and military counter-terrorism strategies towards anti-terrorism ‘more democratic’ in nature. This process would involve awareness raising, information and the option of ‘judicial trial’ for captured terrorists.

Mr. Sagir Musa, the JTF spokesman on August 19, stated that Shekau has possibly “died of gunshot wound received in an encounter with the JTF troops in one of their camps at Sambisa Forest on 30 June 2013”.


Abubakar Shekau:

The $7 million bounty connection When the government of the United States of America, USA, through its Department of Justice Reward for Justice Programme, recently announced a $7 million bounty for the capture of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, expectations were high that this could signal a quick end for the dreaded terrorist and his horde of followers, thus bringing to an to end the reign of terror which the extremist Islamist sect has unleashed on Nigeria and Nigerians.

Shekau was one of five individuals declared wanted by the US for spreading terrorism in West Africa. The belief is that most bounty hunters, including some members of the Boko Haram, will find the $7 million, which translates to about N1.12 billion, too irresistible to ignore and may go to any length to trace and expose Shekau’s hide-out. The amount was also expected to be tempting enough to all other criminal elements in Nigeria to stake everything they have got in search of the wanted Shekau.

The announcement, yesterday, credited to the military Joint Task Force, JTF, set up to flush out the Islamist terrorists in Northern Nigeria, that it has eventually located and killed the wily Shekau, is already being seen in some quarters as an indication that the bounty option or ploy has paid off. It may also come as a fitting and welcome climax to recent reports from JTF that it was winning the war against the terrorists and that it was only a matter of time before it would swoop on Shekau and his lieutenants.

Among the reports was Shekau narrow escape from arrest in Kano, when a joint security team stormed an apartment in the Naibawa Darnamawa area of the city, where he had for long been hiding. This was after one of his lieutenants was reported killed, while two other terrorists were apprehended by the JTF.

More remarkable was the reported killing of Shekau’s second in command, Momodu Bama, during an encounter between the Islamist sect and Nigerian troops. If true, the reported killing of Shekau will come as a welcome relief. to most Nigerians and indeed the international committee as he has been attributed as spreading a kind of terrorism similar to that of Osama Bin Laden, who was executed by US SEAL after years of manhunt.

The statement from JTF on the death of Shekau said: "Shekau was mortally wounded in the encounter and was sneaked into Amitchide, a border community in Cameroon for treatment from which he never recovered. It is believed that Shekau might have died between July 25 and August 3, 2013".


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