As the military deploys its special force units to
track the fleeing leader of the Boko Haram sect,
Abubakar Shekau, there are strong indications
that the terror kingpin may have fled Nigeria
through the help of Islamic State (ISIS) groups
operating in East and North Africa.
Saturday Sun gathered that with the recent loss
of his group’s caliphate headquarters, Gwoza to
the Nigerian troops and the invasion of Sambisa
forest by a detachment of the nation’s special
force units deployed from their base in Makurdi,
Benue State, the Boko Haram leader saw his
capture as imminent.
According to dependable military intelligence
sources, Shekau had to send emissaries to ISIS
affiliates with strongholds in East and North
Africa to pave the way for his escape to their
region from where he intends to coordinate his
group’s activities or ultimately relocate to ISIS
headquarters in the Middle East.
One of the sources revealed that “having
discovered that he was being tracked through his
Thuraya satellite phone, Shekau recently dropped
the line and handset totally to evade capture.
But the last satellite image of him and other
intelligence pieced together by forces on the
battle frontline show his desperation to escape
from the country to parts of East Africa or North
Africa where ISIS is having some footholds.”
The source, a red neck military chief further told
Saturday Sun that “as part of moves being made
by Shekau, he now relocates with fewer guards
and limited number of lieutenants knowing his
movement schedule. This is to frustrate
intelligence gathering efforts by security forces
and avoid attracting the focus of satellite image
capturing technology deployed by some foreign
super powers and shared with the Nigerian
security forces.”
It was gathered that as part of his bid to escape
the heat of ongoing military operations in the
Northeast Nigeria, Shekau has in the last few
weeks changed his look and physical appearance
dramatically.
“A recent intelligence from one of our foreign
partners shows the Boko Haram leader clean
shaven which totally alters his look. That
heightens our curiosity about his motive, before
we got other evidence that pointed to the fact
that he was trying to cross the border”, the
source added.
The militant group had on March 7 pledged
allegiance to the leadership of ISIS in Iraq and
Syria.
The pledge, which was made by Shekau, who
addressed himself as the Imam of Jamaátu Ahlus
Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad (Boko Haram) and
was addressed to Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi al-
Husseini al-Qurashi, the leader of the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). “From your brother
in Allah, Abu Mohamed Abu Bakr bin Mohammed
Shekau, the Imam of
Jamaátu Ahlus Sunnah Lidda Awaati Wal Jihad to
the Caliph of Muslims Abubakar Abu Bakr Ibrahim
ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Husseini al- Qurashi.
“We are sending you this message, following what
Allah said in his Quran (And hold fast, all of you
together, to the Rope of Allah and be not divided
among yourselves) and what the Prophet, Peace
be upon him said (Whoever died and
he had not Imam, died by death of ignorance).
“In submission to the order of Allah “Azza wa
Jal”, and submission to the order of the prophet,
peace be upon him to not separate from each
other and to stay united as Ummah as
Jammaaáh, We announce our allegiance to the
Caliph of the Muslims Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn
Ibrahim al-Husseini al-Qurashi and will hear and
obey in times of difficulty and prosperity, in
hardship and ease, and to endure being dis
criminated against and not to dispute about rule
with those in power, except in case of evident
infidelity,” read an English-language translation of
the video broadcast in Arabic.
ISIS has a few foreign groups from which it has
accepted pledges, including Ansar Bayt al- Maqdisi
in the Egyptian Sinai and groups of fighters in
strategic areas of Libya. ISIS has a shura council
that dictates the group’s strategic direction but
takes a devolved, hands-off
approach on tactical matters.
A week after the pledge of allegiance by Boko
Haram, ISIS leadership in a statement accepted
the militant group into its fold, with a promise to
work with it to establish an ISIS cell in West
Africa. In an audio message, a man who claimed
to be the spokesperson for the Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria, ISIS, said the group’s aim of
establishing a caliphate has now been expanded
to West Africa.As earlier exclusively by Saturday
Sun, Shekau had stayed in crisis-ridden Northern
Mali to coordinate the training and operations of
the militant group before they were flushed out of
there by a joint French and African forces,
including Nigerian troops. He thereafter crossed
the porous borders to join his foot soldiers in
Borno State.
“He may not find it easy to return to Mali this
time round but we suspect he may be targeting
East Africa or parts of North Africa such as Libya
and Egypt where some islamist groups are
causing instability now”, a senior military chief
involved in the prosecution of the war against the
militant group told Saturday Sun, adding that he
cannot categorically say whether Shekau had
indeed escaped or still in the country.
“On whether he has successfully escaped from
Nigeria, I have no such information but at the
same time I cannot rule that out because of his
level of desperation to flee and his links with
some other groups within the region and even
beyond”, the source stressed, adding:
“What we strongly believe at this moment is that
he is still within our reach or that of our
neighbours; especially Niger and Chad. He may
find it difficult to move beyond these borders and
may end up returning to one of our remote
villages in the North-East to hide.”
The source also stated that Shekau had told
some of his close lieutenants that he would
rather die from gunshot from his guards than
being killed by the Nigerian troops whom he
regards as “infidels.”
“One of his captured commanders once
disclosed that Shekau had given instructions to
his personal guards to shoot him dead in the face
of a confrontation with our troops who he
calls infidels. He believes that makes him a
martyr”, the source added.
When contacted on the information that Shekau
had fled the country between the last week of
March and the first two weeks of April, the acting
Director of Public Relations, Nigeria Army, Colonel
Sani Usman said, “We have an ongoing
war against terrorists in this country and we are
determined by all means and what it takes to
eliminate, capture all terrorists and destroy all
their known camps.
“If in the process, any of their leaders is
captured, so be it because the whole war is not
about an individual. We are also determined to
arrest all of them dead or alive.”
track the fleeing leader of the Boko Haram sect,
Abubakar Shekau, there are strong indications
that the terror kingpin may have fled Nigeria
through the help of Islamic State (ISIS) groups
operating in East and North Africa.
Saturday Sun gathered that with the recent loss
of his group’s caliphate headquarters, Gwoza to
the Nigerian troops and the invasion of Sambisa
forest by a detachment of the nation’s special
force units deployed from their base in Makurdi,
Benue State, the Boko Haram leader saw his
capture as imminent.
According to dependable military intelligence
sources, Shekau had to send emissaries to ISIS
affiliates with strongholds in East and North
Africa to pave the way for his escape to their
region from where he intends to coordinate his
group’s activities or ultimately relocate to ISIS
headquarters in the Middle East.
One of the sources revealed that “having
discovered that he was being tracked through his
Thuraya satellite phone, Shekau recently dropped
the line and handset totally to evade capture.
But the last satellite image of him and other
intelligence pieced together by forces on the
battle frontline show his desperation to escape
from the country to parts of East Africa or North
Africa where ISIS is having some footholds.”
The source, a red neck military chief further told
Saturday Sun that “as part of moves being made
by Shekau, he now relocates with fewer guards
and limited number of lieutenants knowing his
movement schedule. This is to frustrate
intelligence gathering efforts by security forces
and avoid attracting the focus of satellite image
capturing technology deployed by some foreign
super powers and shared with the Nigerian
security forces.”
It was gathered that as part of his bid to escape
the heat of ongoing military operations in the
Northeast Nigeria, Shekau has in the last few
weeks changed his look and physical appearance
dramatically.
“A recent intelligence from one of our foreign
partners shows the Boko Haram leader clean
shaven which totally alters his look. That
heightens our curiosity about his motive, before
we got other evidence that pointed to the fact
that he was trying to cross the border”, the
source added.
The militant group had on March 7 pledged
allegiance to the leadership of ISIS in Iraq and
Syria.
The pledge, which was made by Shekau, who
addressed himself as the Imam of Jamaátu Ahlus
Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad (Boko Haram) and
was addressed to Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi al-
Husseini al-Qurashi, the leader of the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). “From your brother
in Allah, Abu Mohamed Abu Bakr bin Mohammed
Shekau, the Imam of
Jamaátu Ahlus Sunnah Lidda Awaati Wal Jihad to
the Caliph of Muslims Abubakar Abu Bakr Ibrahim
ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Husseini al- Qurashi.
“We are sending you this message, following what
Allah said in his Quran (And hold fast, all of you
together, to the Rope of Allah and be not divided
among yourselves) and what the Prophet, Peace
be upon him said (Whoever died and
he had not Imam, died by death of ignorance).
“In submission to the order of Allah “Azza wa
Jal”, and submission to the order of the prophet,
peace be upon him to not separate from each
other and to stay united as Ummah as
Jammaaáh, We announce our allegiance to the
Caliph of the Muslims Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn
Ibrahim al-Husseini al-Qurashi and will hear and
obey in times of difficulty and prosperity, in
hardship and ease, and to endure being dis
criminated against and not to dispute about rule
with those in power, except in case of evident
infidelity,” read an English-language translation of
the video broadcast in Arabic.
ISIS has a few foreign groups from which it has
accepted pledges, including Ansar Bayt al- Maqdisi
in the Egyptian Sinai and groups of fighters in
strategic areas of Libya. ISIS has a shura council
that dictates the group’s strategic direction but
takes a devolved, hands-off
approach on tactical matters.
A week after the pledge of allegiance by Boko
Haram, ISIS leadership in a statement accepted
the militant group into its fold, with a promise to
work with it to establish an ISIS cell in West
Africa. In an audio message, a man who claimed
to be the spokesperson for the Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria, ISIS, said the group’s aim of
establishing a caliphate has now been expanded
to West Africa.As earlier exclusively by Saturday
Sun, Shekau had stayed in crisis-ridden Northern
Mali to coordinate the training and operations of
the militant group before they were flushed out of
there by a joint French and African forces,
including Nigerian troops. He thereafter crossed
the porous borders to join his foot soldiers in
Borno State.
“He may not find it easy to return to Mali this
time round but we suspect he may be targeting
East Africa or parts of North Africa such as Libya
and Egypt where some islamist groups are
causing instability now”, a senior military chief
involved in the prosecution of the war against the
militant group told Saturday Sun, adding that he
cannot categorically say whether Shekau had
indeed escaped or still in the country.
“On whether he has successfully escaped from
Nigeria, I have no such information but at the
same time I cannot rule that out because of his
level of desperation to flee and his links with
some other groups within the region and even
beyond”, the source stressed, adding:
“What we strongly believe at this moment is that
he is still within our reach or that of our
neighbours; especially Niger and Chad. He may
find it difficult to move beyond these borders and
may end up returning to one of our remote
villages in the North-East to hide.”
The source also stated that Shekau had told
some of his close lieutenants that he would
rather die from gunshot from his guards than
being killed by the Nigerian troops whom he
regards as “infidels.”
“One of his captured commanders once
disclosed that Shekau had given instructions to
his personal guards to shoot him dead in the face
of a confrontation with our troops who he
calls infidels. He believes that makes him a
martyr”, the source added.
When contacted on the information that Shekau
had fled the country between the last week of
March and the first two weeks of April, the acting
Director of Public Relations, Nigeria Army, Colonel
Sani Usman said, “We have an ongoing
war against terrorists in this country and we are
determined by all means and what it takes to
eliminate, capture all terrorists and destroy all
their known camps.
“If in the process, any of their leaders is
captured, so be it because the whole war is not
about an individual. We are also determined to
arrest all of them dead or alive.”
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