EXCLUSIVE: Disarray in ISWAP / BH ranks as members plot to assassinate leaders for collaborating with military

BY YERWA EXPRESS NEWS, JUNE 22, 2025 | 10:14 AM

A huge showdown is underway between members of Boko Haram terrorists and their rival faction, the Islamic State of West African Province, as well as between fighters and some of their commanders.

Disgruntled members of the group from both factions are closing their ranks and mobilizing to go against some of their leaders, who they believe to have been conniving with the military and Nigerian government at the expense of their so-called religious cause.

Mistrust and breakdown of loyalty

Recently, there has been a huge breakdown of trust and loyalty among the ranks of the organization, with members suspecting one another of selling out.

YERWA EXPRESS NEWS sources indicate that the massive casualties they recently suffered are a result of betrayal and insider workings. This is the general view across the group too.

Multiple sources say that the terrorists believe that some of their members, including among their top commanders, could be working with the military in exchange for clemency and smooth transition into the Operation Safe Corridor program.

The primary cause of the internal crisis

A primary driver for this internal conflict is the ongoing leadership struggle between Abu Musab al-Barnawi, son of the late Mohammed Yusuf, and Bakura Buduma, both vying for overall command of the terrorist movement and recognition from ISIS.

This rivalry has fueled constant infighting between their respective factions.

How the military takes advantage of the situation

These infighting appears to have provided the military an opportunity to inflict even greater casualties on both factions.

The precision and pattern of recent military operations leave them to conclude that they have been extremely infiltrated by the Nigerian military, with their own members working against them.

‘I want to assure you that some of them are working with the military because they feel disenchanted by the blatant struggle for power and material control among their leaders and want to quit the madness.

‘In return, they volunteer information. These destabilize the group,’ a security source anonymously explained.

Collaborators and insiders giving away the organization

These collaborators have reportedly been instrumental in providing information that has led to the elimination of their own members and commanders, even though our military sources refused to comment on the matter when our reporter brought it up.

'Some of the leaders agreed to repent but chose to remain within the terrorist groups, sacrificing their lives as a form of repentance,' another of our sources revealed.

The source further detailed the extent of the betrayal: 'Presently, the feeling among the group is that some commanders and fighters have their hands in the recent killing of Abu Fatima and other high-ranking leaders of the group.'

Another source among the surrendered fighters told YERWA EXPRESS NEWS that the terrorists knew that the recent clearance operations in places like Damasak, Dikwa, Damboa, and Malamfatori were a result of insider collaboration.

‘They also exposed Abu Fatima in Kukawa, and some brothers who were observing eid in the Timbuktu, and many achieved Shahada (martyrdom),’ a fighter told our source, while lamenting the current breakdown of trust among them (the terrorists). The fighter is also seeking to lay down his arms and turn himself over.

Given the current situation, members of the group are increasingly suspicious and worried that any operation they may launch could reach the hearing of the military and result in massive casualties.

‘They are threading on a tight rope,’ our sources confirm.

‘In fact, some of them could be planning a mutinous protest and kill the suspected sellouts,’ a source added.

The cause for the widespread paranoia

This paranoia intensified following an airstrike by the air component of the Operation Hadin Kai in Bege, an area near Forlong, in the general vicinity of Izge and Bita last week Friday.

The terrorists are now convinced that the air strike was planned with an insider collaboration and was also aimed at eliminating key commanders, including al-Barnawi, the leader of ISWAP.

At the time of the attack, al-Barnawi was reportedly delivering a sermon about the newly established base (Bege), intended as a safe haven beyond the reach of Bakura's faction and the military, especially since their former strongholds in Sambisa, the Lake Chad shores, and the Timbuktu Triangle have been compromised.

Source confirmed that over 30 vehicles and numerous motorcycles with fighters were present during al-Barnawi's sermon.

‘The terrorists now have no doubt that the attack was a meticulously planned operation, aided by what they call the 'munafikun' (hypocrites) within their ranks, targeting their fighters,’ our source equally added.

The said attack resulted in killing many of their men. In fact, al-Barnawi was severely injured, if not already dead.

In response to these perceived betrayals, some members have reportedly resorted to luring their colleagues suspected to be sellouts into smaller groups and open killing fields for easier elimination.

A plan to protest and take action

They have also reportedly mapped out some of their commanders who they would confront soon to defend themselves from the suspicions and allegations. ‘They plan to kill them,’ a source said.

As the terrorist groups grapple with this internal turmoil, the Nigerian military has pledged to intensify its operations.

Security sources say that the military is aware of the disarray in the terrorists’ ranks and taking full advantage of it to intensify operations with heavy land and air operations.