Daily Times

Once again, Boko Haram leader Abu Bakar Shekau may or may not be dead. The Nigerian army claimed last October that Shekau had been killed and a video of him, showing the destruction that the group had caused, was released soon after. The President of Chad, Idriss Deby has now come out and said that Shekau is dead and that the “imposter” posing as him has also been killed. President Deby went on to claim that the militaries of Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria have chopped off the “head” of Boko Haram and that the group will be “finished by the end of 2015”. Shekau, who is known for his video rants, has not been seen for six months, which is why Deby’s claims seemed more plausible than the previous reports. Deby has also said that Shekau has a successor, Mahamat Daoud. This revelation has led some to believe that the group, which had been suffering from internal strife, might be engaged in a leadership battle. It is also important to note that Shekau was the successor of Muhammad Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram who died in police custody in July 2009. Under this new leadership, the group became far more radical and brutal than ever before.

Terrorist groups tend to use the statements and videos that they release as political tools to spread either fear or extremist propaganda and sometimes deliberately misguide the governments that they are battling. The recent revelation of Taliban chief Mullah Omar’s death was surrounded by a similar controversy. In the case of both the Taliban and Boko Haram, the reasons for keeping the demise of the leader secret are similar. The unity of terrorist groups largely depends on a charismatic leader because any movement that is built upon inciting terror by killing and enslaving innocent people requires the constant indoctrination of the foot soldiers so that they keep believing that they are fighting for a larger cause. The death of the leader, who is usually all-powerful, can lead to disillusionment and mass defections. Another reason that the leader’s inner sanctum might attempt to convince the world that their leader is still alive is to show their opponents that they are still powerful. The news of Shekau’s death may have been premature because no evidence, if indeed there is any, to support President Deby’s assertion has been made public. Whether or not Shekau is dead, the belief that Boko Haram will be eradicated by the end of this year is most likely far-fetched. Whatever knowledge that the world and the governments fighting Boko Haram have about the group is eclipsed by what they do not know. Therefore, it would be a mistake to underestimate a group like Boko Haram, which routinely kidnaps girls and children, making them sex slaves, domestic slaves or even reluctant suicide bombers and has killed over 17,000 people since 2009. *