Nigeria: Boko Haram pledges allegiance to Islamic State following its leader’s suicide

“A group of fighters from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram pledged allegiance to rivals the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) weeks after the former group’s leader died.”  There is history leading up to this commitment: Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2015, but then ideological differences between them caused a deep rift.

Since August 2016, Boko Haram has been divided into two main groups, one led by Abubakar Shekau and the other by Abu Musab al-Barnawi. The former relies heavily on female operatives, while the latter repudiates the entire principle. Each side gives a contrasting theological justification for its position.

Shekau first took over from Boko Haram’s founder Mohammed Yusuf in 2009, after Yusuf died. The group then went on a frenzied campaign of “violence characterised by kidnappings, suicide bombings and contest over territories.” A major reason for the 2016 split between the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram was Shekau’s indiscriminate targeting of Muslim civilians and use of women and girls as jihad suicide bombers. ISWAP was angry because he targeted Muslim civilians that he considered apostates for rejecting his authority. Since the split, ISWAP “emerged as the more dominant force in the region, carrying out large-scale attacks against the Nigerian military.”

Then in June, Shekau killed himself to avoid the humiliation of capture when he was cornered in battle by ISWAP. According to an audio from the group, which was obtained by AFP: “Shekau preferred to be humiliated in the hereafter to getting humiliated on Earth. He killed himself instantly by detonating an explosive.” The voice reportedly sounded like that of ISWAP leader Abu Musab Al-Barnawi.

Now, with the reunion of the group as Shekau’s faction pledges allegiance to the Islamic State, fears are mounting that “ISWAP is consolidating control of the insurgency in northeastern Nigeria”.

Still, not all Boko Harm fighters may be ready to join ISWAP; we may hope that the deep rift will continue and hamstring jihad operations. Such rifts are well-known among jihadis, most notably the eternal Sunni/Shia rift. However, all jihadis, whether they are members of al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, Hizballah, the Muslim Brotherhood, or whatever other group, share the expansionary vision of establishing an Islamic caliphate everywhere and subjugating infidels globally — by stealthy or violent means, or both.

“Boko Haram fighters pledge to Islamic State in video, worrying observers,” Reuters, June 28, 2021:

MAIDUGURI/ABUJA, June 27 (Reuters) – A group of fighters from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram pledged allegiance to rivals the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) weeks after the former group’s leader died, according to a video seen by Reuters.

The video fuels fears that ISWAP is consolidating control of the insurgency in northeastern Nigeria following the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau last month. But not all observers are convinced the video is proof that all Boko Haram fighters are ready to join ISWAP.

The groups engaged in a violent rivalry for years, and if ISWAP absorbs Boko Haram fighters, it could focus attention on attacking the Nigerian military.

Some 350,000 people have died as a result of the 12-year insurgency and subsequent humanitarian crisis, the United Nations said this week. read more

The video, produced by Islamic State’s official media arm, showed clips of several hundred men, many of whom were armed, gathering in the bush. Several made statements to camera.

“We will unite together to fight the (unbelievers),” one Boko Haram fighter said in Hausa. “What will happen now will by far exceed what transpired in the past now that we’re united.”

Vincent Foucher, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research who is an expert on the conflict, said the video adds to evidence that ISWAP was gaining control.

“It is one more indication that ISWAP has won,” he said.

Foucher said other indicators of ISWAP’s consolidation of power included its claims of attacks in areas that had been Boko Haram zones of influence and a significant drop in violence against civilians in areas where Boko Haram operated…..