Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Adds Abubakar Mohammed Shekau,

 

Ansaru to Its Sanctions List

 

On 26 June 2014, the Security Council’s Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee approved the addition of Ansaru and Abubakar Mohammed Shekau to its list of individuals and entities subject to the targeted financial sanctions and the arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2161 (2014), adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

The Committee stresses the need for robust implementation of the Al-Qaida Sanctions Regime as a significant tool in combating terrorist activity, and urges all Member States to participate actively by nominating for listing additional individuals, groups, undertakings and entities which should be subject to the sanctions measures.

As a result of the new listings, any individual or entity that provides financial or material support to Ansaru and Abubakar Mohammed Shekau, including the provision of arms or recruits, is eligible to be added to the Al-Qaida Sanctions List and subject to the sanctions measures.

The details of the new listings for both names are listed below:

A. Individuals associated with Al-Qaida

QI.S.322.14 Name: 1: ABUBAKAR 2: MOHAMMED 3: SHEKAU 4: na
Name (original script): أبو بكر محمد الشكوى
Title: Imam  Designation: na DOB: 1969  POB: Shekau Village, Yobe State, Nigeria  Good quality a.k.a.: Abubakar Shekau  Low quality a.k.a.: a) Abu Mohammed Abubakar bin Mohammed b) Abu Muhammed Abubakar bi Mohammed c) Shekau d) Shehu e) Shayku f) Imam Darul Tauhid g) Imam Darul Tawheed  Nationality: Nigerian  Passport no.: na  National identification no.: na  Address: Nigeria  Listed on: 26 Jun. 2014   Other information: Member of the Kanuri tribe. Physical description: eye colour: black; hair colour: black. Photo available for inclusion in the INTERPOL-UN Security Council Special Notice. Leader of Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal-Jihad (Boko Haram) (QE.B.138.14). Under Shekau’s leadership, Boko Haram has been responsible for a series of major terrorist attacks.

B. Entities associated with Al-Qaida

QE.A.142.14. Name: ANSARUL MUSLIMINA FI BILADIS SUDAN
Name (original script): أنصار المسلمین في بلاد السودان
A.k.a.: a) Ansaru b) Ansarul Muslimina fi Biladis Sudan c) Jama'atu Ansaril Muslimina fi Biladis Sudan (JAMBS) d) Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi Biladis-Sudan (JAMBS) e) Jamma’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi Biladis-Sudan (JAMBS) f) Vanguards for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa g) Vanguard for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa  F.k.a.: na  Address: Nigeria  Listed on: 26 Jun. 2014   Other information:Terrorist and paramilitary group established in 2012 and operating in Nigeria. Associated with the Organization of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) (QE.T.14.01), Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal-Jihad (Boko Haram) (QE.B.138.14) and Abubakar Mohammed Shekau (QI.S.322.14).

For further details relating to the listings, please refer to the narrative summaries of reasons for listing of the above-mentioned names annexed to this release.  In accordance with paragraph 17 of resolution 2161 (2014), the narrative summaries of reasons for listing the above-mentioned names are also available on the Al-Qaida Committee’s website at: http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQI32214E.shtml; http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQE14214E.shtml.

The Al-Qaida Sanctions List is updated regularly on the basis of relevant information provided by Member States and international and regional organizations. This is the thirteenth update of the List in 2014.

An updated Al-Qaida sanctions list is available from the Committee’s website at: http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/aq_sanctions_list.shtml.

(annexes follow)

ANNEX I

NARRATIVE SUMMARY

QI.S.322.14. ABUBAKAR MOHAMMED SHEKAU

Date on which the narrative summary became available on the Committee’s website: 26.06.14

Abubakar Mohammed Shekau was listed on 26 June 2014 pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3 of resolution 2161 (2014) as being associated with Al-Qaida for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of” and “otherwise supporting acts or activities of” Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad (Boko Haram) (QE.B.138.14) and the Organization of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) (QE.T.14.01).

Additional information:

Abubakar Mohammed Shekau is the leader of Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal-Jihad (Boko Haram) (QE.B.138.14). Under Shekau’s leadership, Boko Haram has maintained a relationship with the Organization of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) (QE.T.14.01) for training and material support purposes. For example, Boko Haram gained valuable knowledge on the construction of improvised explosive devices from AQIM. A number of Boko Haram members fought alongside Al-Qaida-affiliated groups in Mali in 2012 and 2013 before returning to Nigeria with terrorist expertise.

Under Shekau’s leadership, Boko Haram has been responsible for a series of major terrorist attacks, including a wave of bombings in Kano, Nigeria in January 2012 that killed more than 180 people in a single day. Another major attack was the 26 August 2011 bomb attack on the United Nations headquarters in Abuja that killed at least 21 people and wounded scores more. The group was also responsible for the 25 December 2011 attack on the Saint Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Nigeria, that killed at least 37 and wounded approximately 50.

Since summer 2012 Boko Haram has undertaken a campaign of violence against Nigerian schools and students. In June 2013, the group attacked schools in Maiduguri and Damaturu, Nigeria, killing at least 22 children; in July, an attack on a school in the village of Mamudo, Nigeria, killed at least 42 people, most of them students. On 29 September 2013, Boko Haram attacked an agricultural school in Yobe, Nigeria, shooting dead 50 students in their dormitory as they slept.

On 14 April 2014, Boko Haram abducted approximately 300 girls from a school in northern Nigeria. Shekau claimed responsibility for the attack in a video released by Boko Haram and threatened to sell the girls into slavery. Boko Haram militants subsequently attacked a staging base for rescuers on 5 May 2014, killing an additional 310 people.

In a statement released in November 2012, Shekau expressed Boko Haram’s solidarity with Al-Qaida affiliates in Afghanistan, Iraq, North Africa, Somalia and Yemen. He also encouraged fighters across Africa and other areas to continue engaging in terrorist attacks. Shekau’s media statements have been published on known jihadist forums.

Related listed individuals and entities:

Al-Qaida (QE.A.4.01), listed on 6 October 2001

The Organisation of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (QE.T.14.01), listed on 6 October 2001

Jama'atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda'awati Wal Jihad (Boko Haram) (QE.B.138.14), listed on 22 May 2014

Ansarul Muslimina fil Biladis Sudan (QE.A.142.14), listed on 26 June 2014

ANNEX II

NARRATIVE SUMMARY

QE.A.142.14. ANSARUL MUSLIMINA FI BILADIS-SUDAN

Date on which the narrative summary became available on the Committee’s website: 26.06.14

Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis-Sudan, also known as Ansaru, was listed on 26 June 2014 pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3 of resolution 2161 (2014) as being associated with Al-Qaida for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of” the Organization of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) (QE.T.14.01).

Additional information:

Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis-Sudan, also known as Ansaru, is an armed splinter group of Jama'atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad (Boko Haram) (QE.B.138.14.). Ansaru publicly announced its existence in January 2012. It has carried out terrorist attacks in Nigeria. Ansaru shares ideological similarities with the Organization of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) (QE.T.14.01) and maintains operational connections with AQIM, including training and attack planning. The structure and leadership of Ansaru is unclear.

Ansaru’s attacks typically target non-Nigerian civilians living or working in Nigeria and Nigerian security personnel.  On 26 November 2012, Ansaru attacked the Nigerian Headquarters of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, freeing many detainees.  In December 2012, Ansaru claimed responsibility for kidnapping a French national stating that its motivation was linked to the planned French intervention in Mali.

In January 2013, Ansaru attacked a convoy of Nigerian peacekeepers heading to Mali which resulted in the death of two Nigerian peacekeepers and wounding another seven. Ansaru again referenced the international intervention in Mali as a motivation for the attack. Seven foreign workers employed by a Lebanese-owned construction company in the Jama’are Local Government Area of Bauchi State were executed by Ansaru following a second brutal kidnapping in February 2013. Ansaru directly claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and killing.

Related listed individuals and entities:

Al-Qaida (QE.A.4.01), listed on 6 October 2001

The Organisation of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (QE.T.14.01), listed on 6 October 2001

Jama'atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad (Boko Haram) (QE.B.138.14.), listed on 22 May 2014

Abubakar Mohammed Shekau (QI.S.322.14.) listed on 26 June 2014

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For information media • not an official record