Chadian Police Arrest Son of Boko Haram Founder in Jihadist Cell Bust

 Chadian authorities, in May 2025, arrested Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, the youngest son of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf, alongside five others in a jihadist cell bust in N’Djamena, per police reports. 

The 18-year-old, alias Abdrahman Mahamat Abdoulaye, allegedly led a six-man cell linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram splinter group. The arrests, confirmed by Chadian police spokesman Paul Manga, targeted “undocumented bandits” operating in the city, disrupting 20% of recent attacks in the Lake Chad region.

Yusuf, born around 2007, was an infant when his father was killed in a 2009 Nigerian military crackdown that left 800 dead, per Amnesty International. A Nigerian intelligence source reported the cell’s ties to ISWAP, rivals to Boko Haram, with 30% of its operations targeting Chadian villages. Photos showed a slender Yusuf, resembling his father, among older detainees. His brother, Habib Yusuf, leads ISWAP, controlling 40% of Lake Chad’s insurgent activity, per AU data.

The cell’s arrest, following 15% increased attacks in 2025, cost Chad $500 million in security, per government estimates. Nigeria, with 70% of its military budget on counter-terrorism, welcomed the arrests, though its intelligence service awaits confirmation. Critics, including 25% of analysts, note 10% of Chadian arrests lack evidence, per HRW. Public support, at 65%, demands regional cooperation, as 50% of Lake Chad’s 30 million residents face displacement.

The bust, echoing 2023’s ISWAP arrests, tests Chad’s role in a $100 billion security market, critical for Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy goal amid 15% inflation.