Niger's national army claims to have killed the main jihadist leader of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin. Bakoura, whose real name is Ibrahim Mahamadou, was the armed group's leader after the death of Abubakar Shekau in 2021. So far, the Niger army has not provided any evidence of Bakoura's death. "His death would be a powerful symbolic victory, but be careful, Boko Haram has a great capacity for resilience," warns Seidik Abba, an expert on the Islamic movement, in an interview with TV5MONDE.

"It would be a strong symbolic victory": the death of Boko Haram leader Bakoura, announced by the army in Niger

Niger's national army claims to have killed the main jihadist leader of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin. Bakoura, whose real name is Ibrahim Mahamadou, was the armed group's leader after the death of Abubakar Shekau in 2021. So far, the Niger army has not provided any evidence of Bakoura's death. "His death would be a powerful symbolic victory, but be careful, Boko Haram has a great capacity for resilience," warns Seidik Abba, an expert on the Islamic movement, in an interview with TV5MONDE.

August 22, 2025 at 9:53 AM (UT) Updated August 22, 2025 at 2:23 PM (UT) By Pierre Desorgues

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Bakoura

Image of Bakoura, Boko Haram's military leader. Screenshot from Nigerien television.

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A triumphant statement from the Niger National Army. "The Nigerien armed forces, in a surgical operation of exemplary precision, neutralized the infamous Bakoura, whose real name is Ibrahim Mahamadou, the feared leader of the Boko Haram sect," on Shilawa Island in the Diffa region of the Lake Chad basin.

Ibrahim Mahamadou was in his forties and originally from Nigeria. He had joined Boko Haram more than 13 years ago, according to the Nigerien army.

Doubts over the death of the jihadist leader

Some experts remain cautious about this announcement from the Nigerien army. "I think we have to be very, very careful. We've already announced the deaths of several jihadist leaders many times, and it's been contradicted many times. So, at the moment, we only have one announcement from the authorities," emphasizes Vincent Foucher, a French researcher at the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research, France) and a specialist in Boko Haram, interviewed by AFP.

In the mid-2010s, Boko Haram's then-leader, Abubakar Shekau, was repeatedly reported dead before regularly reappearing in videos.

A symbolic victory for the Niger army?

If Bakoura's death is confirmed, it would constitute, according to Seidick Abba, a Nigerien journalist and writer, "a strong symbolic victory for the Nigerien army." "It would come in a particular context. Niger wants to strengthen its cooperation with Chad in its fight against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin. Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby was in Niamey a few weeks ago," adds the author of Pour comprendre Boko Haram.

Bakoura was the military leader of Boko Haram, one of the most powerful jihadist movements in the Sahel and West Africa. Boko Haram was founded in 2002 by preacher Mohamed Yusuf in Maiduguri, northern Nigeria. The sect advocates a rigorous and radical Islam. "Mohamed Yusuf, the founder, was pursuing a proselytizing approach, but armed violence only really began with his successor, Abubakar Shekau," explains Seidick Abba.

40,000 dead, two million displaced

Violence is spreading across northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin. Fighting, attacks, and kidnappings have left more than 40,000 people dead since 2009. Two million people have been forced to flee their homes.

In 2016, Boko Haram split into two groups. "Bakoura followed Abubakar Shekau into what can be called Boko Haram's 'historical channel,'" says Seidick Abba. Abubakar Shekau was killed in 2021. He died fighting against another armed jihadist group, the Islamic State in West Africa. Bakoura, a loyalist of Abubakar Shekau, became a senior leader of Boko Haram.

"He then continued the armed struggle. He modernized it, notably by using drones. Above all, he further internationalized Boko Haram's activities," describes the Nigerien journalist. The armed group is thus attacking northern Cameroon. "Bakoura represents the third generation of Boko Haram commanders, after Mohamed Yusuf and Abubakar Shekau," says the Nigerien author.

"Is this enough to severely weaken Boko Haram? We remember that in 2021, after the death of Abubakar Shekau, there was a period of uncertainty within the armed movement. But there is no shortage of contenders. Boko Haram has taken over. Another leader will emerge after Boko Haram. Boko Haram has a capacity for resilience," confides Seidick Abba.

According to the Nigerien journalist, defeating Boko Haram does not require solely military solutions. States in the Lake Chad region must respond to the social expectations of their populations, according to the author. "The response cannot be solely military. It must be social. Boko Haram succeeds in recruiting many unemployed, destitute young people. Some of them are recent graduates who cannot find employment opportunities," explains the Nigerien author, originally from the Diffa region.

The social consequences of global warming are helping to swell Boko Haram's ranks: "The drying up of Lake Chad and the disappearance of its resources linked to global warming are weakening the populations of the lake basin and are fueling recruitment by Boko Haram," adds Seidick Abba. In 40 years, Lake Chad has lost 90% of its surface area. Its ecosystem and fishing resources have virtually disappeared. Nearly 30 million people live in the Lake Chad basin. So far, the jihadist group has neither confirmed nor denied the death of its military leader.