REVEALED How Boko Haram Leader, Shekau Killed Himself After ISWAP Fighters Encircled Sambisa Forest
By Ozumi Abdul
In the closing days of May 2021, the silence of the Sambisa Forest was broken by the sound of advancing engines and amplified voices calling for surrender, marking the final hours of Abubakar Shekau, the longtime leader of Boko Haram.
Fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) had entered the forest in coordinated columns, closing in on Shekau’s enclave and setting in motion a confrontation that would end his violent reign.
Accounts documented by HumAngle show that ISWAP fighters moved deliberately through the forest, broadcasting messages that they were seeking Shekau alone and promising safety to those who laid down their arms. Many Boko Haram fighters abandoned their positions or surrendered, leaving Shekau increasingly isolated as the cordon tightened around his camp.
Witnesses described tense moments inside the stronghold, with frantic radio calls, sporadic gunfire and confusion among remaining loyalists. As ISWAP forces completed the encirclement, negotiators again urged Shekau to surrender. He refused.
ISWAP later said Shekau died between May 18 and May 19, 2021, after detonating a suicide vest when capture became inevitable. His death was confirmed days later, ending years of conflicting reports and repeated claims by both the Nigerian military and rival groups that he had been killed.
Shekau rose to prominence after the extrajudicial killing of Boko Haram’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, in 2009. He transformed the group into a brutal insurgency that relied on suicide bombings, mass kidnappings and attacks on civilians, security forces, churches and mosques across northern Nigeria.
Under his leadership, Boko Haram targeted Christians and Muslims alike, branding many Muslims as apostates for rejecting its ideology or cooperating with the state. The violence spread across the Lake Chad Basin, contributing to tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
Born in northeastern Nigeria, Shekau studied Islamic teachings as a youth before joining Yusuf’s movement in Maiduguri. He later became one of the world’s most notorious militant leaders, attracting international attention and a $7 million bounty from the United States government.
His rule was marked by internal divisions and growing dissent within Boko Haram. Senior commanders accused him of excessive brutality, corruption and the killing of fellow Muslims. These divisions culminated in the 2015 split that produced ISWAP, which aligned itself with the Islamic State while denouncing what it called Shekau’s ideological excesses.
After his death, ISWAP rapidly consolidated control of the Sambisa Forest. Fighters loyal to Shekau were absorbed, executed or forced to flee. Some defected to other armed groups operating in different parts of northern Nigeria, according to security sources.
While Shekau’s death marked the end of an era for Boko Haram, analysts say it did not end the insurgency he helped shape. ISWAP remains active and organised, and communities across the region continue to face insecurity, displacement and humanitarian crises linked to the conflict.
Story written from HumAngle documentary