Son of Boko Haram Founder Arrested in Chad
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Written byPeace Panden
18 Aug 20250 Comments
A son of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, has been arrested in Chad for allegedly leading a jihadist group.
According to AFP, the suspect, identified as Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, is about 18 years old. He was arrested alongside five other suspected insurgents during a raid carried out by Chadian security forces.
While Chadian police confirmed the arrest of six Boko Haram members, they did not immediately confirm if one of them was indeed the son of the late extremist leader. However, a Nigerian intelligence source in the Lake Chad region insisted that Muslim Yusuf was among those captured and described him as the leader of the group.
Photos from the arrest show a young man in a blue tracksuit, closely resembling the late Boko Haram founder. Security officials also revealed that the arrested group belongs to ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province), a faction that broke away from Boko Haram years ago due to ideological differences.
Muslim Yusuf, also known as Abdrahman Mahamat Abdoulaye, is the younger brother of ISWAP’s current leader, Habib Yusuf (Abu Mus’ab Al Barnawi).
A former Boko Haram fighter, now turned away from the group, also confirmed the arrest: “He and his team were arrested by Chadian security. There are six in total.”
Muslim was only a baby in 2009 when his father, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed during a Nigerian military operation in Maiduguri that left over 800 people dead. Since then, the insurgency has spread across the Lake Chad region for more than 15 years, causing widespread violence and destruction.
Chadian police spokesman Paul Manga said the suspects were undocumented and are confirmed to be Boko Haram members: “They were arrested a few months ago.”
So far, Nigeria’s counter terrorism agencies and intelligence services have not issued an official statement on the arrest.
