Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor has confirmed that the leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, is dead.

Al-Barnawi was the son of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, who was also killed by security forces in 2009 when he launched a war against the Nigerian state.

Al- Barnawi was previously the spokesperson for the Islamists before he later became ISWAP leader following the death of Abubakar Shekau.

He was said to have been trained by ISIS before he became the ISWAP leader.

However, details of how and when he died are still sketchy and ISWAP has yet to formally announce Al-Barnawi's death.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Irabor said to journalists on Thursday, “I can authoritatively confirm to you that Al-Barnawi is dead. As simple as that. He is dead and remains dead.”