Top ISWAP Commander, Sani Shuwaram Killed

Top ISWAP Commander, Sani Shuwaram Killed

Sani Shuwaram, a senior commander of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP), was assassinated on Tuesday.

Nigerian military carried out airstrikes in the Marte axis of Borno State, killing the infamous commander of the feared gang as well as other militants.

The Nigerian Air Force achieved its most recent win after launching a series of attacks on the axis where Shuwaram’s camps were situated with the help of Super Tucano fighter planes and other aircraft.

Shuwaram, in particular, was murdered by bullets when military fighter planes assaulted an ISWAP camp in the approximate region of Lake Chad’s Sabon Tumbuns, killing him and others.

According to reports, the NAF conducted a series of assaults against the terrorists in February 2022, during which Shuwaram was also wounded.

In the meanwhile, as they attempted to recuperate from their wounds from the earlier assaults, the NAF, as part of its counter-insurgency campaign in the North-Eastern portion of the nation, attacked the terrorists’ hideouts, killing Shurwaram in the process.

“Shuwaram was among terrorists injured by NAF air interdiction missions conducted at Sabon Tumbuns near Kirta Wulgo in February 2022. Subsequent airstrikes in the following days might have led to his death alongside other ISWAP fighters where they were receiving treatment including Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi,” PRNigeria quoted a source as saying.

According to reports, Mallam Bako Gorgore has been nominated to be the next Wali of ISWAP, taking over for Shuwaram, who has stepped down.

An Alkali (Judge), Bukar Arge, performed the oath of office in Kurnawa, a remote camp on the Lake Chad Basin fringes that serves as the de-facto headquarters of ISWAP in Abadam local government area of Borno State. Shuwaram was sworn in by Bukar Arge, an Alkali (Judge), during a brief ceremony in Kurnawa.

When contacted, NAF spokesman Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, who denied to confirm Shuwaram’s killing, stated that NAF aircraft, with ground forces’ backing, had maintained a military attack at Tumbuns, near Kirta Wulgo in Marte LGA of Borno State, in the Lake Chad Region.

Gabkwet said: “I cannot confirm the death of any leader of terrorists. We don’t want to be dragged into making any statement or confirmation based on rumours or hearsay. Nevertheless, our troops at the frontline alongside other agencies have sustained massive strikes at the hearts of terrorist leaders and their enclaves until we get this job done”.

Earlier, sources informed PRNigeria that the little-known Sani Shuwaram had taken over for Aba-Ibrahim, who had been chosen by Abu-Mosab Albarnawi’s Interim Committee in August 2021, after an order from ISIS’s Headquarters in Baghdad.