The United Nations Security Council has sanctioned Boko Haram leader,
Abubakar Shekau, and a splinter group, Ansaru on Wednesday. According to Reuters, Shekau is
the first individual while Ansaru is the first entity to be so sanctioned since
the Islamist militant group was blacklisted.
With this sanction, Shekau and Ansaru will be banned from international
travel while their assets would be frozen under the UN al Qaeda sanctions list.
Russia had placed a “technical hold” on the designations two weeks ago
because it needed more time to review the listings, but diplomats said they
lifted the hold on Wednesday, allowing the sanctions to come into force.
Last month, the Security Council al Qaeda Sanctions Committee
blacklisted Boko Haram at the request of Nigeria, following global outrage when
the group kidnapped more than 250 girls from the Government Secondary School,
Chibok, Borno State, on April 14.
The Islamist militant group was described in the UN listing as an
affiliate of al Qaeda and the Organisation