The leader of a faction of Nigeria’s Islamist militant group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau,
says he has killed the Islamist militant group’s spokesman, according to an
audio recording obtained by the AFP news agency.
The 50-minute recording appears to be of a meeting of his inner
circle on 18 December.
According to AFP, Shekau said the gathering had been called to
discuss "those elements grumbling over” the killing of “Tasiu”, also known
as Abu Zinnira, who had appeared in several Boko Haram propaganda messages.
Shekau
is known for clamping down on dissent among his followers, although this has
further alienated some of his fighters.
Opposition
to Shekau’s leadership led some militants to break away and form the
al-Qaeda-linked Ansaru and the so-called Islamic State faction in the Lake Chad Basin.
Both
groups accused Shekau of killing several Boko Haram members unjustly and opposed
his sanctioning of attacks and kidnappings affecting Muslim members of the
public.
In this latest broadcast Shekau does not address any of the criticisms.
