[4] Koufa traveled the Macina Cercle shortly afterward following Ghaly's teachings, and advocated for a revitalization of Islam.

[7] Malian anthropologist Boukary Sangaré stated that Koufa and other jihadists in the region "[spoke] of liberation, emancipation and development, which attracted pastoralists and other marabouts.

[3] Koufa appeared alongside Ghaly, Djamel Okacha, Abu Hassan al-Ansari, and Abou Abderrahman El Senhadji in a video published in 2017 that marked the creation of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, a coalition of five jihadist groups.

[11][12] In late 2017, Koufa sent two emissaries to prominent Fulani figure and former president of the National Assembly Prof. Alioune Nouhoum Diallo in negotiations with the Malian government between JNIM.

[13] On November 8, 2018, Koufa appeared in a new video alongside Ghaly and Okacha, on which he called all Fulani to rise up in the name of jihadism in the seven African countries where they are most populous; "Senegal, Mali, Niger, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon.

[16] The Malian ministry of defense confirmed Koufa's death the next day, stating he was seriously injured during the attack and died a few hours afterwards in the Wagadou Forest.

[2] Abdelmalek Droukdel, the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, stated on December 11 that Koufa was still alive, claiming he was neither killed, injured, or even present at the scene of the attack.

[19] Droukdel's claims were confirmed on February 28, 2019, when Koufa appeared in a JNIM video denying and mocking the announcement of his death.

[1] In late 2019, the defection of Katiba Macina fighters to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara increased tensions between the two groups.

[24] On May 7, 2020, the Islamic State's propaganda branch Al-Naba accused Koufa and Ghaly of being apostates for negotiating with the Malian government.