■ Orders members to burn churches
From TIMOTHY OLANREWAJU, Maiduguri
Residents of Maiduguri have been speaking on the new Boko Haram leader, Abu Musab Al-Barnawi announced in a publication by the Syria-based Islamic State (ISIS) on Tuesday. They said the man was not known either in Maiduguri, Boko Haram birthplace or any of the towns where the insurgents previously held sway.
The ISIS’s 41st edition of its propaganda magazine, Dabiq, had on Tuesday published an interview with al-Barnawi who it called the, “Wali” (Governor) for Boko Haram in West Africa.
The publication also quoted al-Barnawi as not approving persistent attacks on mosques and markets frequented by Muslims, a marked departure from Abubakar Shekau’s operations.
Little is known about the purported new leader except his previous appearance in January 2015, claiming to be a Boko Haram spokesman. But many in Borno could not ascertain his identity or his ancestry.
“Al-Barnawi is not known here. We’ve never heard about him either in Bama or Konduga or any other place where Boko Haram has many members before,” a Civilian JTF commander who has deep understanding of Boko Haram hierarchy since its transformation to a violent group in Maiduguri in 2009, said on condition of anonymity.
Others maintained they have not heard of al-Barnawi name in the past. “I haven’t heard of such name before,” says Aji (other names withheld), who was once arrested by the security agents for alleged link with the group and later released when found to be innocent. “I know many of their leaders because some of my friends and peers in my neighbourhood joined Boko Haram in 2011 in Maiduguri, but al-Barnawi is strange to me,” he added.
He also hinted, “the fellow could either be a Nigerien or Chadian,” noting that many of the latter Boko Haram commanders were mostly foreigners. “Some of those who were later leading Boko Haram are Chadian or Nigerien claiming to be Kanuris from Borno probably because they speak the language,” he stated.
Some also suggested Al-Barnawi could be a pseudo-name, adding that most of the Boko Haram leaders and commanders often bear unique names to hide their real identity from the security agencies.
“Abu Kaka wasn’t the real name of the Boko Haram former spokesman and it was when the military announced his killing; I think in 2014 that we found out it was the Kogi boy we had known in the 90s at Abbaganaram and State Low Cost that bore the name. I think his name was Mohammed,” resident Bukar Mustapha said.
A military source also said most terrorists and their leaders hardly bear their real names. “It is part of the game-plan to sustain terrorism or terror acts. They adopt strange names to hide their real identity so as to escape arrest or in some instances, create fear and larger-than-life identity for themselves. The idea is to create fear in the mind of the people. That is why you hear Abu Kaka, Abu Darman, Abu Salman or Tarwi and stuff like that,” the source said.
On why the initial leader, Abubakar Shekau did not adopt such pseudo-names, the source said the metamorphosis of the insurgents’ group from a local religious sect to a terror group and the “need to draw sympathy from hundreds of young recruits from his locality (Borno) or tribe” may have informed his decision to maintain his identity.
Meanwhile, Abubakar Shekau, known to be the Boko Haram leader in an audio message purportedly released by him on Thursday, rejected the new leadership of al-Barnawi. “We’ll never recognize al-Barnawi. Not at all,” he insisted in the message, which clearly underscores tension in the leadership of the terror group. However, Saturday Sun could not authenticate the source of the audio as at press time.