Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has confirmed that Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, the commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), is dead.
“I can authoritatively confirm to you that Al-Barnawi is dead. As simple as that. He is dead and remains dead,” the Chief of Defence Staff, General Irabor said to journalists on Thursday,
Al-Barnawi was the son of Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram, who was assassinated by security forces in 2009 after launching a war against the Nigerian government.
Al- Barnawi was previously the Islamists’ spokesperson before becoming the ISWAP’s leader after Abubakar Shekau’s death.
Before becoming the ISWAP head, he was claimed to have been trained by ISIS.
However, details of how and when he died are still sketchy and ISWAP has yet to formally announce Al-Barnawi’s death.
