Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, the young son of the founder of the most dreaded terrorist group in West Africa has been arrested.
Yusuf was said to have been leading a jihadist cell when he was captured alongside four suspected members in Chad.
His father Mohammed Yusuf was executed in Maiduguri on July 30, 2009, after he was captured by the Nigerian Military and transferred into police custody.
His son was said to have been born in Nigeria a few years before Boko Haram was founded in 2022. A source gave young Yusuf’s age as 18.
While the Chadian police confirmed its arrest of six members of the Boko Haram terrorist group, it did not state whether Yusuf was part of the suspects.
Sources told AFP that a six-man jihadist cell members were arrested in Chad.
“The team was headed by a Muslim, the youngest son of the late Boko Haram founder,” said the source.
According to the source, the cell belonged to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group, a strong group which splintered off from Boko Haram over ideological disagreements.
Photos seen by AFP after the arrests in Chad, show a young, short and slender man in a blue tracksuit — with a striking resemblance to Yusuf — standing next to far older men.
Intelligence sources also noted that the Boko Haram leader’s son goes by the alias Abdrahman Mahamat Abdoulaye, is the younger brother of ISWAP leader Habib Yusuf, alias Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi.
A former foot soldier of the late Yusuf who has since denounced the group said, “He and the team were arrested by Chadian security. They are six in number.”