Boko Haram leader dead: Nigeria's military investigates reports of Abubakar Shekau's death

Nigeria's military says it is investigating reports that the leader of militant Islamist group Boko Haram may have been killed or seriously injured following clashes with a rival terror group.

Abubakar Shekau has been the figurehead of an insurgency that has killed more than 30,000 people since 2009. In 2014, he made international headlines when his forces kidnapped about 300 schoolgirls.

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A number of reports published on Thursday by Nigerian media, citing intelligence sources, said Shekau was seriously hurt or killed after his insurgents clashed with members of Islamic State in West Africa Province (Iswap), which broke away from his group in 2016.

A Nigerian Army spokesman, Mohammed Yerima, said the military were investigating.

"It's a rumour. We are investigating it. We can only say something if we confirm it," he said.

Shekau was said to have been killed on several occasions over the last 12 years, including in announcements by the military, only to later appear in a video.

Iswap split from Shekau's group five years ago, pledging allegiance to ISIS. The schism was due to religious ideological disagreements over Boko Haram's killing of civilians – something Iswap objected to.

Shekau's death, if confirmed, could potentially end fighting between the two groups, enabling either to absorb the others' fighters and consolidate its hold on north-east Nigerian.

The ongoing conflict in Nigeria has forced about 2 million people from their homes and spawned one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The lowdown

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Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment

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Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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Sole survivors

Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.