Deathblow for dreaded Boko Haram, terror outfit's chief Abubakar Shekau killed

Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the dreaded terrorist outfit Boko Haram, has reportedly been killed. 

The report of the killing came from the rival Islamic State West Africa Province leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who claimed that the leader of the Nigerian Islamist terrorist group killed himself whilst being on the run from his fighters. 

ISWAP used to be a faction within Boko Haram but split from it in 2016 due to ideological differences mainly with Shekau. 

The recording, verified by two unidentified individuals who reported to Reuters that the voice was Barnawi's, claims that he "killed himself instantly by detonating an explosive" even though the ISWAP fighter offered him a chance to live by telling him to repent and join their organisation. 

The claim has neither been disputed nor confirmed by Boko Haram and is being investigated by the Nigerian army. He has been reported dead many times in the past, but those reports have been false. 

Who was Abubakar Shekau?

Abubakar Shekau became the leader of the terror organisation when its founder died in police custody in 2009 and under his leadership the relatively underground group transformed into a full-blown outfit across northeast Nigeria. 

His methods were more violent and radical than his predecessor, and since he took charge more than 30,000 people have died and more than 2 million have been forced out of their homes. 

Since coming into power, Boko Haram staged bombings, kidnappings and prison breaks. In a 2012 video posted by the group, Shekau can be seen saying, "I enjoy killing... the way I enjoy slaughtering chickens and rams." 

The group initially garnered attention in 2014 when it kidnapped hundreds of girls from a school in Chibok, Borno to train and sell them as slave wives. This initiated the 'BringBackOurGirls' movement. Many of those girls are still missing. 
    
What does this mean for Nigeria?

Shekau's death, if confirmed, can either severely weaken the group and make it susceptible to both government intervention as well as the rival group's assimilation. 

ISWAP's aim after his death is to assimilate the members of the now leaderless Boko Haram. 

As for the existing members of Shekau's group, they are faced with a choice -- whether to join the rival faction or to fight them. For the Nigerian terrorist crisis, ISWAP displaced Boko Haram as the dominant insurgency in the north-eastern region and plans to expand the insurgency. 

The death comes as a shot in the arm for the Nigerian government and the army which were so far severely ill-equipped to battle both terror groups. The operations can now focus on ISWAP entirely.

• Abubakar Shekau
• Boko Haram
• Islamic State West Africa Province
• Abu Musab al-Barnawi
• terrorism
• terror outfit