Boko Haram Leader Died By Suicide, Map Of Armed Group Power In West Africa Changing?

Boko Haram militia group. (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - The militant group Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) announced that the leader of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau, had died by suicide.

Reporting Reuters Monday, June 7, Shekau was killed in pursuit by ISWAP on May 18 after fighting. Shekau is said to have committed suicide using an explosive device, according to a voice recording claiming to be ISWAP leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi.

ISWAP is able to corner Shekau in his pursuit, offering an opportunity to repent and join ISWAP.

"Abubakar Shekau, God has judged him by sending him to heaven," he said. Two people familiar with al-Barnawi confirmed it was his voice.

"Shekau would rather be humiliated in the afterlife than be humiliated on earth, and he immediately committed suicide by detonating an explosive device," the statement continued.

A Nigerian intelligence report shared by a government official and Boko Haram researcher also said Shekau was dead.

Last month, the Nigerian military said it was investigating Shekau's alleged death, also reported on Nigerian and foreign news outlets. The audio statement, first obtained by local media, is ISWAP's first confirmation that its arch-rival in the Lake Chad region has been killed.

"ISIS is consolidating the entire region, the Lake Chad region and (the Shekau stronghold)," said Bulama Bukarti, an analyst specializing in Boko Haram at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

"ISWAP has framed Shekau as a problem and he is the only person they want to get rid of," Bukarti continued about ISIS' efforts to lure Boko Haram commanders and fighters to their side.

Shekau's death could end the fierce rivalry between the two groups, allowing the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) to absorb Boko Haram fighters and consolidate its grip on Nigeria's northeast, political analysts say.

Boko Haram made headlines around the world with the 2014 kidnapping of more than 270 schoolgirls from the city of Chibok, sparking a global campaign for their return dubbed #BringBackOurGirls, backed by the likes of Michelle Obama. About 100 Chibok Girls are still missing, and some are thought to have died in detention.

Shekau led the transformation of Boko Haram from an underground Islamic sect in 2009 to a full-blown insurgency, killing, kidnapping, and looting in northeastern Nigeria.

The group has killed more than 30,000 civilians, forced an estimated 2 million from their homes, and spawned one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

ISWAP was previously part of Boko Haram before splitting up five years ago, pledging allegiance to ISIS. The split was caused by religious ideological disagreements over the killing of civilians by Boko Haram, which ISWAP opposes.