Falmata Abubakar, the mother of the late Boko Haram commander Abubakar Shekau, has expressed her regret for the suffering her son has caused the world as a result of Boko Haram’s terrorist acts.
“I don’t know if he (Shekau) had any offspring,” Falmata said in a recent interview with Trust TV.
Falmata said: “I gave birth to him and that is the only and last thing between us. Whether he is alive or not; we have parted ways. I never knew whether he had any offspring. He inflicted severe pain on me. God Almighty will judge between us in the hereafter.”
Shekau directed Boko Haram’s metamorphosis from an underground cult to a murderous insurgency that has ravaged north-east Nigeria, according to Best News Network. Shekau took over the reins of Boko Haram after its founder, Mohammed Yusuf, died in police prison in 2009.
Boko Haram carried out bombings, kidnappings, and jail breakouts across the region while Shekau was in power. It began overrunning communities in 2014 in an attempt to establish an Islamic State governed by Sharia law.
Before his death in May, Shekau, who was in his early to mid-40s, advocated a deadly jihadist campaign in propaganda videos that drew similarities to Osama Bin Laden.