Categories: News

Boko Haram Lose Headquarters to Joint Forces

Multinational Joint Taskforce

Nigerian forces announced that they had retaken the town of Gwoza, which is believed to be Boko Haram‘s headquarters, according to the BBC.

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Last August, Boko Haram leader Abubaker Shekau enthusiastically announced the expansion of his Islamic caliphate with the recent possession of Gwoza.

As Face2Face Africa previously reported:

During [his] 52-minute video, Shekau declared the town of Gwoza of Borno State a part of his Islamic caliphate, which is an Islamic state headed by a supreme religious or political leader.

“Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate.

“By the grace of Allah we will not leave the town. We have come to stay.”

And as Face2Face Africa previously reported, Boko Haram had waged a devastating

Residents of Gwoza weep after June Boko Haram attack kills 200

offensive against government forces in order to finally claim victory:

Gwoza has been mercilessly hammered in the past year: In June, six villages were attacked there.

In fact, the reported attacks were so vicious there, that much of the burying of the dead was left to the elderly.

And earlier this month, even the Emir of the town, Alhaji Mohammed Idrissa Timta, was kidnapped from Gwoza, after his town was targeted once again.

Timta eventually escaped on his own about a week later.

But his father wasn’t so lucky. On May 30th, Idrissa Timta, the original Emir, was also abducted but then killed.

And while Nigerian authorities reportedly view Shekau’s claims as “empty,” experts are calling Shekau’s territorial advancement “unprecedented” and his ability to maintain the areas he has claimed achievable.

But on Friday morning, Defence HQ Nigeria enthusiastically tweeted the following:

At press time, Boko Haram has also lost the towns of Michika, Gulak, Madagali, Buni Yadi, Baga, Ngala, Bama, Banki, Dikwa, Banki, Goniri, and Damasak.

Reports indicate that the terrorist organization now only controls two districts.

Abena Agyeman-Fisher

Abena Agyeman-Fisher is the Editor-in-Chief of Face2Face Africa. Most recently, she worked for Interactive One as the Senior Editor of NewsOne, she worked for AOL as the News Programming Manager of Black Voices, which later became HuffPo Black Voices, and for the New York Times Company as an Associate Health Editor. Abena, a Spelman College graduate, has been published in Al Jazeera, the Daily Beast, New Jersey’s The Star-Ledger, the Grio, BlackVoices, West Orange Patch, About.com, the Source, Vibe, Vibe Vixen, Jane, and Upscale Magazines. She has interviewed top celebrities, icons, and politicians, such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett, Civil Rights activist and diplomat Andrew Young, comedian Bill Cosby, Grammy Award-winning singer Jill Scott, actress and singer Queen Latifah, Olympic Gold winner Cullen Jones, international supermodel Alek Wek, and five-division world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather. Most recently, she served as the First Lady’s press reporter during President Barack Obama’s U.S.-Africa Summit, Young African Leaders Institute event, and the 2013 presidential trip to Senegal, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Tanzania. Abena is also a 2015 International Women's Media Foundation Africa Great Lakes Fellow, where she reported on women candidates and Chinese sweatshops in Tanzania for CNN and Refinery29.