’30 killed’ as in-fighting hits Boko Haram

A deadly in-fighting has engulfed the camp of Boko Haram leading to the deaths of no fewer than 30 militants, a military officer on the Borno warfront has told TheCable.

The in-fighting is linked to a leadership struggle among the commanders following the killing of man who was believed to be the one posing as Abubakar Shekau in the propaganda videos of the terror group.

The death of the Shekau look-alike, identified as Bashir Mohammed (aka Isa Damasaka, Abacha Geidam, Bashir Konduga), is said to have created an unexpected leadership vacuum, even though the alleged Shekau impostor had said in one of his videos that someone worse than him would take over the group if he was killed.

Hundreds of militants had either surrendered or been captured by the Nigerian military two weeks ago after the battle of Konduga where the Boko Haram commander met his waterloo.

It is still not clear who the top contenders to replace Mohammed are but there are many in the hierarchy who could be interested.

“Some of the names we have heard include Habibu Yusuf, Khalid Albamawa, Momodu Bawa, and Mohammed Zangina,” the officer said.

The wherabouts of Mamman Nur, who is said to be one of the likely successors of Shekau, remain unknown three years after he allegedly masterminded the bombing of UN house in Abuja.

He is not thought to be currently operating out of the country because he is the link between Al Qaeda elements in Africa and Boko Haram.

Nur allegedly co-ordinated the training of suicide bombers in Somalia by Al Shabab, the group responsible for terror attacks in East Africa.

“There is every chance that by the time the dust settles after the in-fighting, Boko Haram would have been considerably weakened,” the officer told TheCable.

“The job is far from completed, but everyday we are winning.”

Military authorities are very confident that if Boko Haram is able to produce another propaganda video, the insurgents would confirm the death of the man that had become a global face of terror.