Shekau’s mum speaks, traces his joining Boko Haram to his journey as an ‘Almajiri boy’

The mother of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, has broken her silence about her most-wanted son.

Falmata Abubakar spoke with the Hausa Service of the Voice of America (VOA), in the village of Shekau, Yobe State.

In a report published Thursday, VOA said elders and leaders of the village took its team to the woman.

The report also said Shekau’s late father was the Imam of the village Mosque before his death.

Falmata said she had no idea where her son was or his situation.

“I don’t know whether he is dead or alive, only God knows, I have not seen him in the last 15 years,” she said.

Residents of the village said they always hid the identity of their village for fear of being associated with the Boko Haram leader.

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His mother said Shekau left the village for Maiduguri, the Borno State capital as a young boy in search of Islamic knowledge. She said he was an “almajiri boy” who walked around the streets of Maiduguri looking for food.

She said it was in the course of seeking Islamic knowledge that her son came into contact with the founder of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, adding that the late Boko Haram leader was the one who indoctrinated her son.

“I did not set my eyes on him since he came into contact with Mohammed Yusuf,” she said.

“I know he is my son, and everyone knows a mother’s love for her son, but our attitude to life is different,” she said.

She also said “He has put so many people in serious difficulty, I pray that God guides him right”.

Falmata said she will not curse her son, saying “he has chosen a path different from the one we put him on, only God knows what he has become now”.

 

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