Abubakar Shekau

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Abubakar Shekau (* between 1969 and 1975 in Niger ) is an Islamist terrorist and leader of the Nigerian group Boko Haram , which carried out a series of deadly attacks in northern Nigeria.

Life

Little is known about his origins and age. Shekau is said to have grown up and went to school in Maiduguri . There he met his predecessor Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf , who had since been shot in police custody . Shekau is said to have studied Islam "under a traditional cleric ".

His nickname is Darul Tawheed , a specialist in Tawheed , an Islamic concept of oneness with Allah . In addition to his native Kanuri , Shekau spoke Haussa and Arabic , and more rarely English . He is recognized by his fellow campaigners as a leader or imam . In his video messages, he mocked the Nigerian politicians and security forces, stating that he could not be stopped and would only die by the will of Allah.

The Nigerian public falsely suspected that Shekau was killed by security forces in 2009. Less than a year later, however, he reported with video messages on the Internet and proclaimed himself the new leader of the Boko Haram . In 2013, the US government offered a reward of up to US $ 7 million for information about his stay.

Boko Haram has been fighting for an Islamic state in the predominantly Muslim north of Nigeria for years and repeatedly carried out attacks on people in villages, churches, schools and police stations. The name Boko Haram translated means "Western education (in the Hausa language literally: books) is sin (also outrage or blasphemy)". Boko Haram is a splinter group of the Ansaru group , which is very close to al-Qaeda in the Maghreb .

In August 2016, the terrorist organization Islamic State reported that Shekau had been deposed.

Death reports

Reports of Shekau's death have been cropping up since 2013. This was also the case in September 2014, when there were again reports from Nigerian and Cameroonian sources that Shekau was killed in combat on September 21, 2014 in Nigeria. Cameroonian military sources indicate his death during skirmishes with the Cameroonian army. Accordingly, Shekau was killed in air strikes in the border region with Cameroon in northeastern Nigeria. The Cameroonian armed forces fought heavy fighting with the Islamist group on the weekend of September 21 and 22, 2014 to prevent fighters from entering the country. If you follow the Nigerian version, Shekau was already killed in combat in 2013.

A source for Australian negotiator Stephen Davis states that Shekau was killed by Nigerian security forces on June 19, 2013 and that the videos that later circulated on the Internet as Shekau were several fakes . The person who has appeared in the videos since then is said to have been an Isa Damsaka. "Boko Haram leaders had been doing their propaganda videos with him for some time," said the negotiator. This version is also supported by the Nigerian army command and is considered the most likely.

A video published by Agence France-Presse in October 2014 shows Abubakar Shekau alive and mocking reports from the Nigerian military about his supposed death.

On August 23, 2016, the Nigerian Army reported via its Twitter account @HQNigerianArmy that Abubakar Shekau was fatally injured during an air strike.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Abubakar Shekau is responsible for attacks , Information Nigeria Online, accessed on May 5, 2014
  2. ↑ Nigeria: Terrorist chief wants to sell kidnapped girls , Der Spiegel Online, May 5, 2014
  3. ↑ Sect leader 'alive when captured' , BBC Online, August 3, 2009
  4. ↑ Boko Haram leader “We will sell the girls on the market!” ( Memento from May 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Reuters Online, from 0:45 min
  5. ^ Boko Haram leader, believed dead, appears in new video , UPI , September 25, 2013
  6. ^ Profile of Nigeria's Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau , BBC Online, June 4, 2013
  7. ^ Boko Haram: What You Need To Know About The Nigerian Extremist Group ( Memento of May 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), The Huffington Post Online, April 14, 2014
  8. ↑ Bombs against "Unbelievers" , Mitteldeutsche-kirchenzeitungen.de, December 29, 2011
  9. ↑ tagesschau.de: What does the alleged disempowerment of the Boko Haram boss mean? In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved August 6, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Cameroon Military Kill Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram Leader ( Memento from September 22, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ), cameroononline.org, September 22, 2014
  11. ↑ Boko Haram Leader Probably Dead , Die Welt Online, September 22, 2014
  12. ↑ SSS says Abubakar Shekau is Dead , pilse.ng of May 2914
  13. ^ We killed Shekau in Nigeria - Cameroon , vanguardngr.com, September 23, 2014
  14. ↑ Boko Haram leader scoffs at his alleged death. N24, October 2, 2014, accessed January 15, 2015 .
  15. ↑ Boko Haram video shows Abubakar Shekau alive. BBC News, October 2, 2014, accessed January 15, 2015 .
  16. ↑ Nigerian Army on Twitter. Retrieved August 23, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Shekau, Abubakar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Darul Tawhid (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerian Islamist
DATE OF BIRTH between 1969 and 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH Niger