A young son of Boko Haram’s late founder, Mohammed Yusuf, has been arrested in Chad, where he was allegedly leading a jihadist cell, security sources confirmed.
Identified as Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, the 18-year-old was captured along with five other suspected militants believed to be linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction that split from Boko Haram over ideological differences.
Chadian police confirmed the arrest of six Boko Haram members but did not disclose their identities. However, a Nigerian intelligence source in the Lake Chad region told AFP that the group was led by Muslim Yusuf, the youngest son of the sect’s founder.
“The team was headed by Muslim, the youngest son of the late Boko Haram founder,” the source said.
Photos obtained after the arrests showed a young, slender man in a blue tracksuit, bearing a striking resemblance to Yusuf, standing among much older suspects.
Yusuf, who also goes by the alias Abdrahman Mahamat Abdoulaye, is the younger brother of ISWAP leader Habib Yusuf, also known as Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi.
A former Boko Haram insider who has since denounced the group also confirmed Yusuf’s arrest. “He and the team were arrested by Chadian security. They are six in number,” he said.
Chadian police spokesperson Paul Manga said the suspects had been detained “a few months ago,” describing them as “bandits who operate in the city” and noting that they were undocumented members of Boko Haram.
The arrest adds a new twist to the long-running insurgency that has plagued the Lake Chad region for more than 15 years, leaving tens of thousands dead and millions displaced.
Nigeria’s counter-terrorism centre and national intelligence service have yet to comment on the development.
