On Friday, a close assistant to the leader of the extremist organization Boko Haram refuted claims made by the Nigerien army that he was killed in a targeted airstrike in the Lake Chad region.
Since 2009, the militant organization has been conducting a brutal insurgency in northeastern Nigeria with the goal of establishing an Islamic caliphate, killing almost 40,000 people and driving over two million others from their homes.
Late Thursday, Niger announced that Bakura, the commander of Boko Haram, was killed last week following a “surgical operation” on an island in the Diffa area of southeast Niger. Bakura’s real name was Ibrahim Mahamadu.
However, one of Bakura’s lieutenants described the news of the leader’s passing as “completely false” in an audio recording that was supplied to AFP by a security source in the Lake Chad region.
He referred to the Niger army announcement as “propaganda” and stated, “I am with him now, we are together,” in the Hausa language prevalent in the area.
The unsubstantiated allegation was also questioned by a number of specialists AFP contacted.
A military junta has ruled Niger since 2023 after seizing power in a coup, but they have had difficulty stopping the Islamic violence that has been roiling the nation.
The Sahel country also has to deal with insurgencies by fighters associated with Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group in the west, along the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, in addition to the east, where Boko Haram is active.
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