Nigerian Forces Kill Man Who Has Been Posing As Boko Haram Leader

Boko Haram, a terrorist organization based in Nigeria, kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in April.

Many escaped, but over 200 are apparently still missing. This incident brought the violent group to the forefront of the world's attention, but it has been plaguing Nigeria for years.

A little over a decade ago, Boko Haram started under the menacing guidance of a cleric named Mohammed Yusuf. In 2009, he was killed and replaced by an individual named Abubakar Shekau.

Apparently, Shekau is dead, but another man has been acting or posing as him during videos.

Abubakar Shekau's name carries with it a lot of weight. Thus, rather than admitting that he had been killed by Nigerian forces, Boko Haram found someone to pretend to be him for their propaganda videos.

According to the Nigerian Defense Ministry, the man posing as Shekau was just killed by Nigerian forces. His name was Mohammed Bashir.

On September 24, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan told members of the United Nations Security Council that Boko Haram had ties with al Qaeda, and ISIS.

He said,

Over the past five years, we have been and are still confronting threats posed by Boko Haram to peace and stability predominantly in the North Eastern part of our country.

He highlighted how much of a threat groups like this pose to not only the region but also the world, saying,

The costs are high: Over 13,000 people have been killed, whole communities razed, and hundreds of persons kidnapped, the most prominent being the mindless kidnap of our innocent daughters from Chibok Secondary School, in North East Nigeria.

The name Boko Haram literally means "Western education is sin," and the terrorist organization is a true menace for Africa's most highly populated country.

It desires to impose an extreme version of Sharia law across Nigeria. It seems that well beyond the Middle East, Islamic fundamentalism poses a very serious threat.

 H/T: CNN