Security forces in Chad have detained 18-year-old Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, the son of Boko Haram’s late founder Mohammed Yusuf, along with five suspected members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), according to intelligence sources.
A Nigerian intelligence officer confirmed the development to AFP on Monday, sharing a photograph of the six detainees—one of whom bore a “striking” resemblance to the Boko Haram founder.
Muslim Yusuf, the youngest son of the radical preacher who established Boko Haram in the early 2000s, was an infant when his father was killed in a Nigerian army operation in 2009 that left hundreds dead in Borno State.
As an adult, Yusuf is alleged to have joined ISWAP, the breakaway faction of Boko Haram, which is led by his elder brother, Abu Musab al-Barnawi.
While Chadian police confirmed to AFP the arrest of “bandits” and “members of Boko Haram,” they did not verify that one of those in custody was indeed the son of Mohammed Yusuf.
Boko Haram has been responsible for a wave of deadly attacks across Northeastern Nigeria, with violence escalating in recent months. In June, at least 12 people were killed after a suspected female suicide bomber, believed to be linked to the group, detonated explosives at a local market.
(AP)
