The leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and son of Boko Haram Founder, Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, has been killed in Borno State.
Al-Barnawi was the son of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf who was also killed by security forces in 2009.
According to Daily Trust, there are two version on how the notorious and dreaded ISWAP leader was killed in the last week of August, this year.
How Al-Barnawi was killed:
One version claimed he was killed by Nigerian soldiers while the second version claimed that his death was due to internal rivalry in ISWAP.
A source revealed that the ISWAP leader was killed during an ambush by troops which also claimed the lives of four or five top ISWAP leaders and many foot terrorists loyal to him.
The source said he was killed around Bula Yobe, a community near the Borno/Yobe states border along Mobbar and Abadam axis that leads to the Lake Chad area.
However, a different source said the Bula Yobe where he was ambushed and killed could be accessed from Yale, Bama, Banki junction through the Kashimbri-Gulumba.
Other sources revealed that it was leadership tussle that led to the death of Al-Barnawi.
One of them said the battle of supremacy climaxed between August 14 and 26, 2021, and that the fight had claimed many commanders on both sides.
Yet, another source said the other camp had mobilised some terrorists from Central Africa to overthrow Al-Barnawi and they succeeded.
Recall that in May 2021 ISWAP Fighters had engaged in a fierce battle with Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau at the Sambisa forest that led to his death.
When contacted yesterday, the Director, Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Benjamin Sawyer, told DailyTrust that he could not confirm when Al-Barnawi was killed because troops had no link with them.
He said, “If there is a problem in their (Boko Haram) camp, how will I know? We normally have a fortnightly brief on operations. If ISWAP or BHTs are fighting among themselves, it is the media that always gives the entire nation the information. It is not us, because we are not in their camps.”
