Boko Haram, the Nigerian jihadist group infamous for its bombings and abductions, is undergoing something of a makeover. A key faction that has the backing of so-called Islamic State has renounced its old blood-soaked ways and is trying instead to win hearts and minds in a new strategic twist to a nine-year insurgency that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.

To be clear, Abubaker Shekau, the fearsome warlord made legendary by his ranting YouTube performances, has had no such change of heart.

He considers everyone residing outside the “Daulah” – the zone of territory he controls – are “unbelievers”, and therefore legitimate targets of indiscriminate murder. It was partly on this ideological point that the movement split in August 2016 – a schism marked by vicious internecine fighting and the assassination of senior commanders on both sides.

The new Boko Haram faction is led by Abu Mus'ab al-Barnawi and his military chief, Mamman Nur. They won the endorsement of IS, which dropped Shekau and picked al-Barnawi as the new “wali”, or governor, of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

More: https://www.naijiant.com/guestcolumn/the-danger-of-a-better-behaved-boko-haram/