The eldest son of Mamman Nur, the founder of the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP), Mahmud Mamman Nur Albarnawy, surrendered himself to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Maiduguri. Mahmud, aged 22, turned himself in on Sunday and was subsequently transferred to the Bulunkutu rehabilitation facility for further processing and custody.
This development was disclosed by Zagazola Makama, a counterterrorism and insurgency expert specializing in the Lake Chad Basin region, in a post on his social media account.
According to Makama, Mahmud admitted to his involvement in various attacks in places like Bama, Banki, Gwoza, and several other locations while serving as a middle-ranking fighter within the Boko Haram group.
Intelligence sources, as relayed by Makama, confirmed Mahmud’s identity as the senior son of the late founder of ISWAP after he underwent profiling at the NSCDC Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.
It was further revealed that Mahmud’s surrender was facilitated by officials of the NSCDC, with the assistance of his uncle in Gamborun Ngala, upon receiving information that he intended to formally surrender to the Nigerian government.
Mahmud was subsequently debriefed and profiled by an intelligence officer of the NSCDC, during which he confessed to leaving the Ali Ngulde camp in Mandara Mountain, Gwoza Local Government Area, and relocating to Maiduguri for about a month before moving to Gamboru Ngala. During his time in Gamboru Ngala, Mahmud was approached by his late father’s loyalists, who urged him to return to the Lake Chad region and pledge allegiance to ISWAP. However, he refused, citing the betrayal and eventual execution of his father by the same group.
This surrender is seen as a significant development in the ongoing efforts to combat insurgency and terrorism in the northeastern region of Nigeria.
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