Iswap swear-in Sani Shuwaram as its new leader to replace Mohammed Yusuf's son Al-Barnawi

TERRORIST leader Sani Shuwaram has been named as the new head of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (Iswap) to replace Abu Musab Al-Barnawi who was reportedly killed earlier this year.

According to several sources, Al-Barnawi, the son of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf who was himself killed by security forces in 2009 was shot dead in a clash with the Nigerian military authorities in September this year. As a result, Iswap's Shura or judicial council of has named Sani Shuwaram as its new leader on Wali in the Lake Chad region.

He now takes over the reins from Mallam Bako who had been leading Iswap in an acting capacity since the death of Abu Musab Al-Barnawi. Mallam Bako has himself passed away, so Bukar Arge, Iswap's alkali of chief judge swore Sani Shuwaram  at a ceremony in Kurnawa, a remote camp on an island in the middle of Lake Chad, which has served as the de-facto Iswap headquarters in Abadam Local Government Area in Borno.

A delegation of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) observed the swearing-in as Shuwaram became the fifth officially recognised head of its West Africa unit In his new role, Shuwaram will control the group in Sambisa Forest, Timbuktu, Tumbumma and others under the supervision of Isis leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.

One military source said that the visiting Isis envoys also discussed internal rivalries, discriminatory action and the financial challenges facing Iswap. They also examined ways around the problem of a refusal of some Boko Haram fighters to join those that have pledged their allegiance to Iswap since Abubakar Shekau’s death.