The report by Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) militant group in an audio recording that Abubakar Shekau, leader of rival Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram, was dead is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
ThisDay reports that the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) militant group said in an audio recording heard by Reuters yesterday that Abubakar Shekau, leader of rival Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram, was dead.
Shekau died around May 18 after detonating an explosive device when he was pursued by ISWAP fighters following a battle, a person purporting to be ISWAP leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi said on the audio recording.
“Abubakar Shekau, God has judged him by sending him to heaven,” he can be heard saying.
Two people familiar with al-Barnawi told Reuters the voice on the recording was that of the ISWAP leader.
A Nigerian intelligence report shared by a government official and Boko Haram researchers had also said Shekau was dead.
Last month, Nigeria’s military said it was investigating Shekau’s alleged death.
The audio statement, first obtained by local media, is ISWAP’s first confirmation that its arch rival in the Lake Chad region has been killed.
Shekau’s death could lead to the end of a violent rivalry between the two groups, enabling Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) to absorb Boko Haram fighters and consolidate its hold on territory in northeastern Nigeria, political analysts said.
The Vanguard says that Constitutional lawyer and public affairs analyst, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, has warned Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Alhaji Abubakar Malami, to review a recent pronouncement attributed to him which threatened a legal action against anyone found to use the social media network, Twitter in Nigeria.
Ajulo stressed that the need to exercise caution in carrying out a legal action was necessary at this time because it would be an exercise in futility since the offence for which the threat was based was not known to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In a media release well circulated in Abuja on Sunday with the title: “Legality or otherwise of the directive to prosecute violators of Twitter ban in Nigeria”, Ajulo gave instances of cases that were similar to the matter and attempted to suggest that the Justice Minister should desist from a wild goose chase.
According to the lawyer in the statement, “Sequel to the temporary ban of Twitter operations in Nigeria by the Federal Government on Friday, 4th June, 2021, my attention has been drawn to a directive credited to the Attorney General of the Federation for the prosecution of violators of the ban of the blogging company in Nigeria.
“Without prejudice to the rationale for the ban of the blogging site, it must be noted that the Nigerian democracy is a constitutional democracy based on the rule of law. Where the rule of law reigns, political expediency ought to be sacrificed on the altar of the rule of law so as to guarantee the continued existence of democratic institutions fashioned to promote social values of liberty, orderly conduct and development.”
The newspaper reports that the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has called on the northern leaders to let the Igbos have their Biafra Republic in order to avert another civil war and bloodshed in the country.
