Photo Of Boko Haram Founder’s Son Arrested In Chad Emerges

A counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, has released photos confirming the arrest of the 18-year-old son of the late Boko Haram founder, Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, in Chad.

Naija News learnt that the suspect was reportedly captured alongside five other jihadists during a security operation by Chadian forces.

Photos shared by Zagazola show a young, short and slender man in a blue tracksuit, bearing a striking resemblance to the late Boko Haram leader, standing among far older suspects.

The sources said the son of the late Boko Haram founder was leading a six-man cell linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a splinter faction of Boko Haram.

According to the counter-insurgency expert, security sources in Chad confirmed the arrest of six suspected members of Boko Haram/ISWAP but declined to provide further details on their identities.

“He and his team were arrested by Chadian security. They are six in number. He was the head of the cell.”

Mohammed Yusuf, founder of Boko Haram, was captured by the Nigerian military and later executed in police custody in Maiduguri on July 30, 2009.

The younger Yusuf, believed to have been born in Nigeria before the group’s insurgency escalated in 2009, is said to have been groomed into militancy and recently emerged as a field commander within ISWAP’s Lake Chad network.

The arrest is being seen as a significant breakthrough in ongoing regional efforts to dismantle jihadist networks operating across the Lake Chad Basin.