A fierce battle between the two factions of Boko Haram that lasted several days led to the final fall of its notorious leader, Abubakar Shekau, on Wednesday.
The encounter, which involved Shekau-led group and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) also claimed the lives of scores of foot soldiers and top commanders from both sides, with multiple sources saying Shekau killed himself.
Many media platforms had reported that ISWAP fighters armed with sophisticated weapons had penetrated the Sambisa Forest from different fronts and surrounded the place Shekau used as a safe sanctuary for years.
They reportedly killed many of his fighters and forced him to surrender.
Daily Trust reported security sources as indicating that when Shekau discovered that it was the end of the road for him, and ISWAP fighters had directed him to relinquish his position as the grand Amir (overall leader) and successor to the founder of the group Mohammed Yusuf but he reportedly opted for suicide by detonating the explosives he strapped to his body.
But the AFP reported that when Shekau reached the point of no return as he was surrounded by ISWAP fighters, he shot himself in the chest, fell on the ground while bleeding profusely but was whisked away to an unknown destination by some of his surviving loyal fighters.
Shekau took over Boko Haram, formally known as the Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, after its founder Muhammad Yusuf was killed by police in 2009.
He was instrumental to the killings of thousands of people and displacement of over three million in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states over the years.
Most of the fighters that fought for the defeat of Shekau on Wednesday were said to be between the ages of 12 and 30.
Daily Trust quoted a source as saying, “They are actually children of some ISWAP members killed over time.
“Others are youths sourced during raids on multiple islands around the Lake Chad. The ISWAP carefully selected the youth. It was therefore much easier for recruitment as some of the youths willingly joined the group and others were forcefully conscripted.
“Some of them were born during the wartime and others were very young when their parents joined the group around 2002. After their parents died because of illness or confrontation with Nigerian troops, the children naturally took over and when the group split into two in 2016, those that moved on their own or forcefully taken to the shores of Lake Chad under the umbrella of ISWAP had an upper hand in terms of training because they were taken to Libya for training in guerrilla warfare and other purposes.
“Others were sent to Syria and Somalia. They were taken to many countries abroad for training. However, those that came back especially between March and April this year took active part in confronting Shekau in the last few days. They launched a serious offensive alongside other top commanders and fighters already on the ground and they succeeded in taking over.”
Another source said some of the 300 youths were trained as “medical doctors, paramedics, engineers, IT specialists, bomb specialists and mechanics.”
He added that among them were women “who serve as nurses or cooks while others have gun-handling skills, meaning they can partake in combat operations.”
He said after their return from abroad, they were camped at a village called Shuwaram in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State.
Another source said ahead of the invasion of Sambisa by the factional group, one of the top commanders of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and his lieutenants had visited the shores of the Lake Chad in company of ISWAP leader Goni Mustafa.
“The entourage were seen on two boats with ISIS flag. Some of those in the entourage were light-skinned people possibly from Libya or Syria. It was only Mustafa that was black. They first visited Marte before they proceeded to Sabon Tumbu.
“They also visited Kirta, Kusuma and Kwallaram where they held meetings with commanders and other fighters,” the source said.
The source said after the strategy meeting, the visiting terrorists left and since then, the ISWAP fighters started mobilising ahead of launching attacks on Sambisa Forest.
An offensive since 2015 by Nigerian troops backed by soldiers from Cameroon, Chad and Niger drove Shekau and his fighters from most of the areas that they had once controlled.
Some fighters including the late Mamman Nur broke away in 2016 and formed the ISWAP. They anointed Abu Musab Albarnawy, the son of late Yusuf as their leader.
“Some of them gathered at Kurnuwa, Kayuwa and Tumbin Jaki before they launched the offensive. They had RPGs, GPMGs and AA guns on some vehicles,” he said.
He added that the attackers also moved their “vulnerable women and children” from the Marte area to some locations around Kukawa.
Another source said before they aimed at Sambisa Forest, the ISWAP fighters were responsible for the recent attacks in Damasak, Marte, Mainok, Dikwa and Maiduguri towns in Borno as well as in Geidam in Yobe State.
A source said the group allegedly resolved to dislodge Shekau with the intent of relocating to Sambisa and the mountainous areas to evade air attacks by the military jets.
A security situation report trending on social media said Shekau must have been killed during the struggle.
The reports stated that: “On 19th May 2021, about 1829hours, ISWAP top fighter Baana Duguri-on this selector – geolocated around Sambisa Forest, Pulka, Gwoza LGA, BRS, informed ISWAP logistics commander Modu-Sulum- geolocated opposite General Hospital Konduga LGA Borno State that they killed Abubakar Shekau, overall BH leader in Sambisa Forest.
“Duguri disclosed that the ISWAP fighters’ team surrounded the BH leader with his team and shooting ensued between the 2 factions. Duguri further added that Shekau detonated a bomb and killed himself when he observed that the ISWAP fighters wanted to capture him alive.
“Furthermore, Duguri informed Sulum that the two sides also lost some fighters during the shooting…”
Meanwhile, Nigerian military had reportedly placed all Borno State commands of the Nigerian Army and Air Force on alert.
The Nigerian military said on Thursday that it was yet to get any information about the reported death of Shekau.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Brig.-Gen. Bernard Onyeuko, told Daily Trust via a text message that he did not have information on Shekau.
“Sorry, I don’t have information on that,” he said.