The son of Boko Haram’s late founder, Mohammed Yusuf, has been arrested in Chad while reportedly leading a jihadist cell linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), PLATFORM TIMES has learnt.
Identified as Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, the 18-year-old was captured alongside five other suspected terrorists during a raid by Chadian security forces.
Multiple security sources confirmed that Yusuf, who also goes by the alias Abdrahman Mahamat Abdoulaye, was coordinating operations within the Lake Chad region before his arrest.
According to reports, the suspects were not directly tied to Boko Haram but were active under ISWAP, the splinter faction that broke away from Boko Haram after internal disagreements.
A Nigerian intelligence officer stationed in the Lake Chad area told AFP that Yusuf’s cell was under surveillance before being dismantled.
“The team was headed by Muslim, the youngest son of the late Boko Haram founder,” the officer disclosed.
Photographs obtained after the arrest show a slim young man in a blue tracksuit, strongly resembling his late father, standing among older detainees.
Yusuf is also said to be the younger brother of ISWAP’s current leader, Habib Yusuf, better known as Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi.
Chadian police confirmed the detention of six suspects but did not officially identify Yusuf. “We arrested bandits operating in the city… they are undocumented and are members of Boko Haram,” police spokesman Paul Manga said from N’Djamena.
A former lieutenant of Mohammed Yusuf, now a defector, also confirmed the arrest, stressing that the suspects were indeed picked up by Chadian security forces.
The development comes just days after the Nigerian government announced the capture of a notorious terrorist leader, Mahmud Mohammed Usman, popularly called Abu Baraa, and his deputy, Mallam Mamuda.
Boko Haram, founded in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf, has waged a violent insurgency across Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin for nearly 15 years.
The group has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, with ISWAP emerging as its deadlier offshoot in recent years.
Security analysts say the arrest of Yusuf and his team marks a significant breakthrough in ongoing efforts to weaken jihadist networks in the region.
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