Chad authorities arrest son of Boko Haram founder Mohamed Yusuf
Chadian authorities only realised that they were holding the high-profile suspect after being alerted by Nigerian authorities through the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
Authorities in Chad have reportedly arrested the son of late Boko Haram founder Mohamed Yusuf during an operation that also led to the apprehension of five other suspected militants.
Named after his late father, 18-year-old Mohammed Yusuf was detained for allegedly leading a six-man jihadist cell linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) that was trying to establish a base in the Lake Chad region.
According to the counter-insurgency publication Zagazola Makama, Mohammed initially identified himself as another individual to conceal his identity when he was arrested alongside the other suspects.
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Photos obtained by Zagazola following the arrests, and seen by The Eastleigh Voice, show a young man, in a blue tracksuit, who resembles the Boko Haram founder being paraded with older men by authorities.
Chadian authorities only realised that they were holding the high-profile suspect after being alerted by Nigerian authorities through the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
Experts say the arrest is a significant outcome of intelligence sharing under MNJTF, which unites Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon in efforts against insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin.
Analysts note that the capture deals both a tactical and symbolic blow to ISWAP, owing to the removal of a potential figurehead who could rally new fighters.
"This was no ordinary arrest," a senior intelligence source said.
"He was born in Nigeria before the 2009 uprising, groomed into militancy, and had begun to carve out his cell to prove his worth within ISWAP."
Boko Haram's founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was seized by the Nigerian military and subsequently killed in police custody in Maiduguri on July 30, 2009.
His death sparked a violent insurgency that has since engulfed Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad Basin.
Mohammed's elder son, Habib Yusuf, eventually took command of ISWAP, the faction that split from Boko Haram, while his younger, 18-year-old son is thought to have been groomed to carry on the family's militant activities.
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