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Son of ISWAP Founder Yields to NSCDC in Borno |
According to intelligence reports by Zagazola Makama, an expert on counterterrorism in the Lake Chad Basin, Mahmud was identified as the eldest son of the deceased ISWAP leader after being profiled at the NSCDC Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.
Mahmud Mamman Nur Albarnawy, the eldest offspring of Mamman Nur, the originator of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP), surrendered to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Maiduguri, Borno State.
22-year-old Mahmud gave himself up on Sunday, May 12, 2024.
According to intelligence reports by Zagazola Makama, an expert on counterterrorism in the Lake Chad Basin, Mahmud was identified as the eldest son of the deceased ISWAP leader after being profiled at the NSCDC Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.
The surrender was orchestrated by the command's operatives through his uncle in Gamborun Ngala, following Mahmud's decision to voluntarily give himself up to the Nigerian authorities.
An agent was dispatched to escort Mahmud, and they reached Maiduguri on May 11, around 1 pm.
After debriefing and profiling by an intelligence officer, Mahmud admitted to leaving the Ali Ngulde camp in Mandara Mountain, Gwoza LGA, and spending about a month in Gwange, Maiduguri, before moving to Gamboru Ngala without causing suspicion.
While in Gamboru Ngala, he was urged by his father's followers to rejoin ISWAP in the Lake Chad area, but he declined, referencing the treachery and killing of his father.
Mahmud confessed his involvement in assaults in Bama, Banki, Gwoza, and other locations as a mid-level combatant with Boko Haram.
He was then transferred to the Bulunkutu rehabilitation center for documentation and further care.
Back in 2013, leading figures of Boko Haram, including Mamman Nur and others, were forced to leave Maiduguri due to intensified operations by joint security forces. They later regrouped in Sambisa forest, escalating their violent campaign.
In March 2015, Boko Haram aligned with ISIS, which appointed Abubakar Shekau as the first Wali of ISWAP. Shekau was later deposed due to allegations of extremism and poor leadership.
The discord led to the split of Boko Haram and ISWAP, with the latter establishing a caliphate in the Lake Chad region under Mamman Nur's leadership.
Mamman Nur was killed in a coup led by Abou Mossab Albarnawyy on August 21, 2018, for releasing Dapchi schoolgirls without a ransom, leading to Albarnawyy's rise as the new spiritual leader of ISWAP.
