Mamman Nur: Boko Haram Factional Leader ‘Murdered’ By Own Fighters

Mamman Nur: Boko Haram Factional Leader ‘Murdered’ By Own Fighters
Mamman Nur, the factional leader of the Boko Haram loyal to Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA), has been reportedly killed by his fighters who rebelled against him.
Daily Trust reports that Nur, the brain behind the ties between Boko Haram and the Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi led Islamic State, was killed by his closest lieutenants on August 21.

He had in 2014 led the rebellion against Abubakar Shekau, which saw the emergence of Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawy faction of the group.

“Mamman Nur, who was killed on August 21, is the actual leader of the Boko Haram faction after they parted ways with Shekau,” a source was quoted as saying.
“He was meant to lead so that followers would remain committed to the cause championed by his late father but he (Nur) is the major link of the faction with the Islamic State; the chief strategist around Lake Chad, including their cells in Nigeria, Niger and Chad.”

Another source told the news outlet that Nur was killed after long period of disagreement with his subordinates who established “relative authority and contacts” over the years.
 He was said to be “not as rough as Shekau”.

“The commanders became disenchanted with Nur’s style of leadership; they saw him as not as rough as Shekau,” the source was quoted as saying.
“They followed him in staging the revolt because the argument back in 2014 was that Shekau was a hardliner who killed almost everyone, both Muslims and Christians who disagreed with his brand of Islam.
“But according to some of the fighters, after establishing his base in Lake Chad, Mamman Nur too ‘deviated from the real course’ and compromised on so many occasions,” he said.

The last straw in the strained relationship was said to be the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls.
The faction had kidnapped over 100 students from Government Girls Secondary School, Dapchi, and released all but one of them about a month later.

“The negotiation of the release of the girls did not go down well with some close associates of Mamman Nur who released the girls unconditionally, following a directive by Al-Baghdadi,” the paper quoted the source as saying.
“Nothing was paid before the girls were released and besides, Mamman Nur’s soft approach and close contact to governments and different levels angered his foot soldiers who rebelled against him and thereafter executed him.”