Abubakar Shekau

Military sources on Saturday confirmed the arrest of the leader of the Ansaru Islamic Sect, Khalid Albarnawi, who was described as the second in command to Abubakar Shekau in the hierarchy of the Boko Haram terrorists group. He is regarded as the most influential member of Nigeria’s terror network with contacts to other Jihadi groups in North Africa and the Middle East.

Nigeria's military on April 28 claimed the rescue of 200 girls and 93 women from a notorious Boko Haram stronghold, but said there was no confirmation the hostages were those kidnapped from Chibok a year ago.

Nigeria's military on March 27 announced that troops had retaken the town of Gwoza from Boko Haram, from which the group declared their caliphate last year.
      
Defence spokesman Chris Olukolade told a news conference in the capital, Abuja, that the recapture came after "concerted and well-coordinated land and air operations".
      

Nigeria's military on Friday announced that troops had retaken the town of Gwoza from Boko Haram, from which the group declared their caliphate last year.
      
"Troops this morning captured Gwoza destroying the Headquarters of the Terrorists self-styled Caliphate," Defence Headquarters in Abuja said on Twitter.
      

Islamic State (IS) has reportedly accepted a pledge of allegiance from the Nigerian insurgent movement Boko Haram.

The acceptance of the allegiance was made in an audio recording, which was posted on IS-related websites on Thursday, Al Jazeera reports.

Troops from Chad and Niger have retaken the northeastern Nigerian town of Damasak from Boko Haram as part of a regional offensive to combat the militants who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
      

Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in an audio message published online on March 7, after three bombs wreaked havoc in northeast Nigeria, killing 58 and wounding scores.
      

Islamist group Boko Haram has vowed to make voting impossible in Nigeria's upcoming election after a spate of deadly attacks in the country's violence-wracked northeast.
      
The group's leader Abubakar Shekau said in a new video posted on Twitter late on Feb. 17 evening that his fighters would disrupt polling in Africa's most populous nation scheduled for March 28.

Nigeria's Boko Haram fighters launched a new attack in neighbouring Niger on Feb. 9, as parliament in Niamey was set to vote on joining a regional force against the Islamists.        

The head of Boko Haram -- the enigmatic Abubakar Shekau -- has openly taunted the countries being menaced by the armed Islamist group as they call for a united effort to crush it.