Police Arrest Boko Haram Founder’s Son

Authorities in Chad have arrested the youngest son of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf, in what security sources describe as a major breakthrough against jihadist activities in the Lake Chad region.

The suspect, identified as Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, was picked up alongside five other alleged members of a jihadist cell during a police raid.

Intelligence officials say the 18-year-old was allegedly leading the group, which was linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a breakaway faction of Boko Haram.

Arrest Confirmed, Identity Under Scrutiny

Chadian police confirmed the arrest of six suspected Boko Haram members but stopped short of verifying whether one of them was indeed the son of Boko Haram’s late founder.

A police spokesman in N’Djamena, Paul Manga, told AFP that the men were “bandits who operate in the city… they are undocumented, they are members of Boko Haram.”

However, Nigerian intelligence sources familiar with counterterrorism operations in the Lake Chad basin insist the group was led by Yusuf.

“The team was headed by Muslim, the youngest son of the late Boko Haram founder,” one source told AFP.

Photos obtained after the arrests appear to show a young man, slim and short, dressed in a blue tracksuit, standing beside older fighters. Observers noted his resemblance to his father.

Boko Haram Legacy and ISWAP Link

Yusuf was only an infant when his father, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed in 2009 during a Nigerian military crackdown that left about 800 people dead.

Boko Haram’s brutal insurgency grew from that crackdown, eventually spreading terror across northeastern Nigeria and neighboring countries.

Over the years, the group splintered, with ISWAP emerging as its most powerful offshoot.

ISWAP has carried out increasingly deadly attacks on villages, civilians, and military installations across the Lake Chad region.

Security analysts say Muslim Yusuf, who reportedly uses the alias Abdrahman Mahamat Abdoulaye, has ties to ISWAP leadership.

He is also the younger brother of Habib Yusuf, better known as Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi, the leader of ISWAP.

Counterterrorism Concerns

The arrest highlights the generational continuity within jihadist networks and the ongoing threat they pose despite repeated military operations.

A former Boko Haram insider, now disengaged from the movement, confirmed Yusuf’s capture, saying, “He and the team were arrested by Chadian security. They are six in number.”

Nigeria’s counterterrorism centre and national intelligence service have yet to comment on the development.

Lake Chad Region Under Siege

For nearly 15 years, Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters have destabilized communities in Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon.

Their operations have displaced millions, killed tens of thousands, and left the Lake Chad basin in a state of prolonged insecurity.

The arrest of Yusuf if officially confirmed could deal a symbolic blow to the insurgency, especially given his direct lineage to Boko Haram’s founder.

Yet analysts warn that without stronger regional coordination and community resilience programs, the insurgency may continue to regenerate.

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