The man orchestrating the deadly Boko Haram massacres in
Nigeria is a boastful lunatic who revels in slaughter and chaos and is a
'master of disguise'.Bloodthirsty Abubakar Shekau is one of the world’s most
wanted men, with American authorities putting a $7million bounty on his head.
Shekau – said to be to fluent in four languages – also operates under a variety
of different names which has only increased the mystery surrounding his true
identity.
The elusive Islamist fanatic has led his brutal Boko Haram militants
since 2009 into war in Africa, killing more than an estimated 16,225 people in
that time. Experts claim psychotic Shekau rarely communicates directly with
members of the terror group and instead deals only with a handful of
confidantes - much like former Al Qaeda terror chief Osama bin Laden. Files on
the US State Department of Justice claim he variously operates under identities
that include Darul Tawheed, Abu Bakr Skikwa, Imam Abu Bakr Shiku, Abu Muhammad
Abu Bakr Bin Muhammad Al Shakwi Al Muslimi Bishku and Abubakar Shakkau. The
four languages he speaks are listed as Arabic, Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri. Even
his age remains unknown, with predictions between 38 and 49 believed to be most
accurate. Shekau is believed to have a wife and three children, although their
whereabouts also remain unknown. The Nigerian military has claimed several
times to have killed the fanatic - only for him to appear in new videos proving
he is still alive.After one recent claim, he appeared in video to taunt the
military's claims and laughed: 'Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah
takes my breath.' Boko Haram – which means ‘Western education is forbidden' in
Arabic – have shocked the world with their merciless slaughter of innocent men,
woman and children across the north of Nigeria. Shekau claimed leadership of
the terror group in 2010, and was seen last week in a video praising the
jihadists who murdered 17 people in the Paris attacks. He has been variously
described as ‘fearless’, a ‘gangster’ and a ‘loner’, which security sources
believe give him an air of invincibility which makes him extremely dangerous.
The Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium has described Shekau as a
‘religious intellectual, yet also a gangster and vigilante as well as a mad
leader’. “He was an easy-going fellow who would exchange banter with people in
the neighbourhood. He was popular… as a local theology student,” said Grema
Kawudima, from the Mafoni area of the city, in a September 2012
interview.Another local, Butari Gwoni said Shekau married the daughter of a
teacher, but his wife died in childbirth, triggering what some said was latent
mental illness. He began “exhibiting signs of mental imbalance” after his
wife’s death, said Gwoni. Rumours also abound that Shekau escaped from the
Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri during the
1990s. The fanatic regularly appears in videos to taunt the Nigerian military
over their failings to prevent his group’s killings. In one of Shekau's first
videos, believed to have appeared online in 2012, the insurgent leader boasted
of his bloodlust and said: ‘I enjoy killing...the way I enjoy slaughtering
chickens and rams.’ It is believed the terrorist was born in Shekau village
that borders Niger to poor farmer parents. They are then thought to have
migrated south into northeast Nigeria. A religious young man, he studied basic
Islamic theology, before focusing on more hardline Sunni ideology and becoming
a preacher. After his religious studies, he is then understood to have attended
Borno State College of Legal and Islamic Studies for higher studies on Islam.
He became increasingly radicalised and seized control of Boko Haram after
founder Mohammed Yusuf was killed in a security crackdown on the terror group
in 2009. Since then, Shekau has pursued a relentless campaign of terror as the
group has strengthened its deadly grip in Nigeria.
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