Following the announcement, Monday, by the Joint Task
Force, JTF, of the possible death of Boko Haram leader,
Abubakar Shekau, after he sustained gunshot injuries in a
clash with Nigerian troops, the United States Government has
launched a probe to verify the claim.
No
one had reasons to believe the announcement that “Shekau
might have died between July 25 to 3 August” in Amitchide,
Cameroun, after being “mortally wounded” in an encounter
with JTF at the Sambisa Forest on June 30, as the task
force did not produce any proof beyond relying on intelligence
report to back up its claim.
US State Department Deputy spokesperson, Ms. Marie Harf,
while responding to a question in Washington DC on Tuesday
on whether US had any information about the possible death
of Shekau, said: “We have seen these reports and (we) are
working to ascertain the facts.”
Shekau and two other key figures in Boko Haram were last
year labelled as “specially designated global terrorists” by the
US, followed up in June by announcing a $23 million reward
for anyone who could help track down five leaders of deadly
militant groups spreading terror in West Africa with the
highest sum of $7 million placed on Shekau’s head.
Commenting on his reported death, Harf described Shekau as
the most visible leader of Boko Haram, adding, “if his death –
it turns out to be true, the loss of such a central and well
known figure would set back Boko Haram’s operations and
remove a key voice from its efforts to mobilise violent
extremists in Nigeria and around the world.”
She however added that that was not the first time the Boko
Haram leader would be declared dead, adding, “as many of you
know, he was also falsely reported dead in 2009.”
The US official however said her country will continue to
support Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, recalling that as
recent as August 15, Under-Secretary Wendy Sherman was
in Nigeria where she held discussions about regional security,
including how both countries could further partner to develop
and implement effective counter-terrorism measures.
Meanwhile, the federal government yesterday pleaded with
Nigerians to give the military the benefit of the doubt,
following criticisms that had trailed the reported death of
Shekau.
It explained that instead of the controversy over whether or
not he might have been killed in a shootout, as revealed by the
military, people should just believe the claim.
Making the plea while briefing journalists after the weekly
Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Minister of
Information, Mr Labaran Maku said, the supposed killing of
Shekau is a logical progression of events since the onslaught
against the insurgents started with the proclamation of
emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States three
months ago.
Maku reasoned that if the military was successfully
prosecuting its operations against the Islamist militant group,
then there should be no reason to doubt its claim on Shekau’s
death.
“Relating to the story that we have read, I think it is better
we leave it at that. These people are on the run and we will
allow the military to tell the story,” he said.
The death claim, Maku said should give Nigerians more
confidence in the military. “It should give us more confidence.
What it means is that the security forces are closing up on
some of the kingpins of this murderous group that has denied
thousands of Nigerians their lives. Some of the key leaders
have been pronounced dead. I think that rather than losing
confidence, we should continue to pray for the military to
hope that in the end they succeed and they are succeeding,”
he said.
He therefore urged the media to support the military in the
fight against terror, adding that the military should be given
ample backing because that is “the most important thing we
need in Nigeria because if there is no peace in the northern
part of the country, there won’t be peace in Nigeria.”
“You will notice that since the president proclaimed the state
of emergency three months ago, we have kept political
comments out of it. We decided that it is better for the
military to tell their story; that is why I have not spoken on it.
We want to remove this security operation from any
misunderstanding, especially from politicians. As a
government, it is our operation, but the most important thing
is to allow the military tell the story of what is happening,” he
added
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