Nigerian government on Thursday has dismissed the announcement of
a new leader for Boko Haram group by ISIS, describing it as cheap propaganda.
Addressing a meeting of All Nigerian Conference of Editors (ANEC) 2016 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed said it is too late to employ such tactics to revive the defeated terrorist organisation.
”By the way, don’t believe the cheap propaganda by the global terrorist group ISIS, which has reportedly named a new leader for Boko Haram. Our gallant military has put Boko Haram on the run and nothing will bring back the terrorists, not even the wishful thinking by ISIS.”
ISIS, to which Boko Haram has pledged allegiance, named Abu Musab Al-Barnawi as the new leader of Boko Haram.
According to ISIS online weekly magazine Al-Naba, “In his first interview with Al-Naba magazine since his appointment as governor of West Africa, Sheikh Abu Musab al-Barnawi talks about the history of jihad in this region.”
But in what appears as a twist, a short video has emerged, where Abubakar Shekau is asserting his leadership over the Boko Haram group, saying what transpired was a conspiracy to remove him from the leadership.
He accused Barnawi of plots to take over the leadership of the organisation.
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Shekau became Boko Haram’s leader after the Nigerian police killed the founder, Mohammed Yusuf in 2009, leading to insurgency that left more than 20,000 people dead and 2.6 million displaced.
Nigerian military onslaught against the Boko Haram has in the last one year crippled the strength of the organisation to pockets of attacks, an indication that the group has become a fragmented organisation.