In a major breakthrough against terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin, six suspected Boko Haram members have been arrested in Chad, including a teenager believed to be Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, son of the sect’s late founder, Mohammed Yusuf.
Chadian authorities confirmed the arrest, which took place in N’Djamena during a counter-terror operation. Police spokesman Paul Manga described the suspects as “bandits operating in the city without documentation,” while Nigerian intelligence sources said Yusuf’s cell was linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram splinter faction.
Yusuf, thought to be about 18 years old, was detained with five others. Photographs showed him in a blue tracksuit, bearing a resemblance to his father. Security sources noted that he is the younger brother of ISWAP leader Habib Yusuf, also known as Abu Mus’ab al-Barnawi.
A former Boko Haram commander who has since defected called the arrest a “major symbolic victory” against insurgency in the region.
The development came as Nigeria’s security forces announced the capture of two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group: Mahmud Muhammad Usman (alias Abu Bara’a) and Mahmud al-Nigeri (alias Mallam Mamuda). The men, long wanted for their roles in kidnappings and attacks across the northwest, were seized in an operation lauded by both Abuja and Western allies.
The United States Embassy in Abuja praised the arrests on X, calling them “a significant step forward in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.” The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, also described the operations as “an extraordinary and very significant success.”
Ansaru, an al-Qaeda-linked group, has been responsible for multiple abductions of foreigners and assaults on Nigerian security forces. Analysts say the twin arrests of Yusuf and the Ansaru commanders highlight growing regional and international collaboration against extremist groups in West Africa.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria announced stricter visa rules, requiring applicants to disclose all social media accounts used in the last five years as part of enhanced global security screening. Failure to provide accurate information, the Mission warned, could lead to visa denial.
Security analyst Dr. Bashir Uji cautioned that while the arrests represent a setback for insurgents, groups like Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Ansaru still possess the capacity to regroup and carry out retaliatory attacks.
