Son of Boko Haram Founder Detained in Chad

Intelligence sources and former militants report that Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, the youngest child of deceased Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf, has been taken into custody in Chad on charges of commanding a jihadist unit connected to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, who goes by the alias Abdrahman Mahamat Abdoulaye, was captured along with five other suspected extremists during a raid that Chadian law enforcement has verified.

Though officials have refused to authenticate his family connections, intelligence personnel and sources familiar with the organization assert that the 18-year-old Yusuf was directing the six-member squad.

An intelligence operative from Nigeria working in the Lake Chad region informed AFP: “The team was headed by Muslim, the youngest son of the late Boko Haram founder.”

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The source clarified that despite being detained on Boko Haram-related charges, the unit actually operated under ISWAP, which broke away from Boko Haram due to significant ideological disagreements.

Images of those detained, examined by AFP, displayed a young individual wearing a blue tracksuit who bore a striking likeness to Mohammed Yusuf, the extremist cleric whose 2009 death during a Nigerian military operation triggered an insurgency that has ravaged the Lake Chad area for over ten years.

A previous subordinate of the deceased Boko Haram leader, who now opposes the movement, verified the detention.

“He and the team were arrested by Chadian security. They are six in number,” he declared.

Chadian police representative Paul Manga acknowledged the detentions, characterizing the suspects as “bandits who operate in the city… they are undocumented, they are members of Boko Haram.”

He noted that the group had actually been captured “a few months ago.”

Yusuf is additionally the sibling of ISWAP’s present commander, Habib Yusuf, who operates under the name Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi.

This detention highlights the persistent influence of Boko Haram’s founding dynasty and the ongoing danger presented by breakaway groups throughout the area. Nigeria’s anti-terrorism center and national intelligence service have not yet released an official response.