Son of Boko Haram Founder Arrested in Chad While Leading Jihadist Cell

The son of Boko Haram’s late founder, Mohammed Yusuf, has been arrested in Chad while allegedly leading a jihadist cell, security sources confirmed. Identified as Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, he was detained alongside five other suspects believed to be affiliated with Islamist networks operating in the Lake Chad region.

Chadian police acknowledged the arrest of six individuals accused of being members of Boko Haram but did not confirm whether one of them was indeed the son of the group’s founder. However, intelligence sources in the region said the cell was under the leadership of Yusuf, who reportedly goes by the alias Abdrahman Mahamat Abdoulaye. Photographs obtained after the arrest appear to show a young man in a blue tracksuit resembling his late father.

Born shortly before Mohammed Yusuf was killed during a Nigerian military crackdown in 2009 that claimed an estimated 800 lives, the younger Yusuf is now believed to be 18. He is also said to be the younger brother of Habib Yusuf, better known as Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi, a former leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the Boko Haram offshoot formed after internal disputes split the group.

According to security officials, the suspects arrested in Chad are thought to be tied more closely to ISWAP than to the original Boko Haram faction. A former lieutenant of the late Mohammed Yusuf, who has since denounced the group but remains familiar with its inner workings, also confirmed the arrest, saying the six were apprehended by Chadian security forces.

Chadian police spokesman Paul Manga described the detainees as undocumented “bandits who operate in the city,” insisting they were members of Boko Haram. The arrests come just days after Nigerian authorities announced the capture of another notorious insurgent leader, Mahmud Mohammed Usman, also known as Abu Baraa, along with his deputy Mallam Mamuda, underscoring ongoing pressure on extremist networks across the region.