Early years Abubakar Mohammed Shekau was born on 23 March 1973 in the Nigerian village of Shekau in the
Tarmuwa local government of
Yobe State. His father was Mohammed Shekau, a local district imam, and his mother was Falmata Abubakar. According to Falmata, Abubakar left for
Maiduguri during his boyhood and became an
almajiri. He reportedly received formal Islamic education in a local religious school known as a
tsangaya from a cleric named Baba Fani. In 1991, he moved to Mafoni Ward in Maiduguri and enrolled in the Borno College of Legal and Islamic Studies (BOCOLIS), where he graduated in 2004. Shekau reportedly had a
photographic memory, His nickname was "Darul Tawheed", which translates as "specialist in
tawheed", the Islamic concept of oneness of
Allah. In June 2012, the
United States Department of State designated Shekau as a terrorist and effectively froze his assets in the United States. Since June 2013, the department has had a standing
reward of US$7 million for information leading to Shekau's capture through its
Rewards for Justice program. In addition, the Nigerian army has offered a
₦50 million reward (approximately US$300,000) for Shekau. In videos Shekau posted online, he boasted often about his invincibility; mocked various armies; and stated that he "cannot be stopped" and "cannot die except by the will of
Allah". He has also boasted of being in possession of armoured tanks and other combat vehicles. His online videos frequently depict
anti-American rhetoric, and he has made multiple threats to attack the
U.S. In one prominent incident, he took credit for the
kidnapping of over 200 school girls in April 2014. Shekau also announced that the kidnapped girls have been converted to Islam. He has claimed to be waging a
jihad against
Christianity. In a May 2014 video, he asserted that his goal was to create a
caliphate. With the rise of the
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria during 2014 and 2015, Shekau faced pressure from his commanders and soldiers to pledge his allegiance to IS leader
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. A history of the group says that Shekau "was compelled to give allegiance, and that was through a coming together of the military commanders, and after he became convinced that the matter was about to go out of his hand, and that his throne would be shaken and emptied of him if he did not give allegiance". After
Gwoza massacre took place, he declared
Gwoza to be under the control of
Boko Haram, saying "Thanks be to
Allah who has given us victory in Gwoza and made us part of the
Islamic caliphate. Thanks be to Allah. We are in an Islamic caliphate and we have nothing to do with
Nigeria." Shekau threatened to attack participants in the
2015 Nigerian general election. In August 2016, ISIL appointed
Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the leader of the group in place of Shekau. Shekau refused to recognise Barnawi's authority and split off part of the group under its original name of Jamaat Ahlus Sunnah li Dawah wal Jihad, while Barnawi led the "Islamic State's West Africa Province" (ISWAP). While Shekau led his group, he only had 1,500 soldiers, whereas Barnawi had 3,500. Shekau has been widely denounced as following the ideology of the
Khawarij by the Islamic State and West Africa province in Nigeria. Following the split, many clashes occurred between Shekau and Barnawi's forces over the next years. ==Reports of death==