ISWAP Executes Own Leader, al-Barnawi, 2 Other Commanders as Borno Fasts, Prays

Malik Yahya/

Three of the most senior commanders of the Nigerian terrorist group, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have reportedly been killed by their own men.

Idris al-Barnawi, believed to be ISWAP’s leader in Nigeria, and two senior leaders – Abu Maryam and Abu Zainab – who were believed to have led the rebellion that fractured Boko Haram under Abubakar Shekau, were killed for allegedly attempting to introduce some measure of moderation into the group’s strategy.

The news of the execution of the ISWAP leaders came the same day residents of Borno State embarked on a day of fasting and prayer after Governor Babagana Zulum called for inter-faith spiritual intervention for peace to return to the troubled state.

The news of the killing was made public by Bulama Bukarti, an analyst with the Tony Blair Institute and a Boko Haram expert, via a post on Twitter handle, @bulamabukarti.

Bukarti was among the three people threatened with execution by Abubakar Shekau, in the latest video by the Boko Haram leader.

He was accused, alongside the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, of engaging in activities that frustrate the group’s objectives.

Bukarti said the trio were killed by commanders that opposed the change which the trio introduced in the group’s modus operandi.

According to Bukarti, “the new regulation required fighters to stop pursuing soldiers that run away during attacks and stop killing captured soldiers”.

While announcing the fasting and prayer exercise, Zulum had noted that many communities have come under varying degrees of murderous attacks in the north, south and central parts of Borno State.

This is the first time the state would embark on officially-sanctioned spiritual exercise since the beginning of the Boko Haram crisis about a decade ago.

The state has witnessed series of fatal attack lately. Chibok, a suburb of the state where the over 200 girls were kidnapped on April 14, 2014, was attacked last Thursday.

Before then, Auno, town in Konduga, saw one of the deadliest terror attacks since the turn of the year.

Read Bukarti’s full post below:

Several reliable on the ground sources, including a top CJTF leader, just informed me that ISWAP has executed three of its top leaders: Idris al-Barnawi (believed to be the group’s leader), Abu Maryam and Abu Zainab (two of those that led the 2016 rebellion against Shekau.

According to the sources, three were killed by commanders that opposed a change in the group’s modus operandi which the trio introduced. The new regulation required fighters to stop pursuing soldiers that run away during attacks and stop killing captured soldiers.

However, the commanders felt the rules were too soft and accused the trio of compromising. This led to their summary and execution. Abba Shayima & Lawan Abubakar have been respectively appointed as the Wali (Governor) and Dep. Wali of ISWAP with a source saying Lawan is the Wali.

Recall that in August 2018, ISWAP executed Mamman Nur, one of Boko Haram’s founding fathers and ideologists, after accusing him of disobeying the wali, spreading rumours and attempting to defect from the group.

If this story turns to be true, it marks yet another turning point in the internal schisms that has fragmented Boko Haram into three factions and turned its fighters against one another. It may also lead to further hardening of ISWAP’s policy of attacks and/or another faction.

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