ABUBAKAR SHEKAU, BOKO HARAM LEADER STARTED NOTORIOUS JOURNEY AS ‘ALMAJIRI’, SAYS MOTHER

Speaking with the team, led by elders and leader of the village to her, the woman said, “I don’t know whether he is dead or alive, only God knows, I have not seen him in the last 15 years. I did not set my eyes on him since he came into contact with Mohammed Yusuf. I know he is my son, and everyone knows a mother’s love for her son, but our attitude to life is different. He has put so many people in serious difficulty; I pray that God guides him right”.

The mother said she will not curse his son, saying “he has chosen a path different from the one we put him on, only God knows what he has become now”.

In a related development, residents of the village said they always hid the identity of their village for fear of being associated with the Boko Haram leader, while it is also a known fact that Shekau is notorious for his leadership of the deadly group responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

It is also recalled that, Shekau took leadership of the group after the death of its founder, Yusuf, who was killed in police custody, also the Nigerian Military has repeatedly claimed to have killed Shekau.,but the claim could not be ascertain till date.

He has personally carried out the execution of several people including members of the sect he leads and also carried out many raids leading to death and destruction of many towns and villages across the north eastern part of Nigeria.

Penpushing also recalled that, Nigerian Government had placed Shekau on list of most wanted terrorist, while the United States Government also has a bounty on him.