ISIS not eligible for $7m bounty placed on Shekau, says US

The US says the Islamic State (ISIS) is not eligible for the $7 million bounty placed on Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram sect who was reportedly killed on Wednesday.

Shekau was said to have been killed while in battle with fighters of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), a breakaway faction of Boko Haram that now swears allegiance to ISIS.

The Boko Haram leader was said to have killed himself with a bomb “when he observed that the ISWAP fighters wanted to capture him alive”.

Declaring Shekau as a specially designated global terrorist under executive order 13224 in 2012, the US authorities had also placed a $7 million reward for whoever can provide information leading to his arrest.

Reacting to his reported death, the US, through its Reward for Justice department, said ISIS is not qualified for the reward.

“News reports today indicate that Boko Haram terrorist Abubakar Shekau blew himself up in a confrontation with ISIS affiliates.

“Hey, ISIS guys. To clarify:  no – you are not eligible for the reward for information on his identity or location. That’s not how the program works,” the US authorities tweeted.

Shekau had earlier mocked the US over the bounty placed on his head, saying his life was in God’s hands.

In 2018, the Nigerian army had also placed a bounty of N3 million on the Boko Haram commander.