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BOKO HARAM FOUNDER’S SON, FIVE OTHER SUSPECTED TERRORISTS ARRESTED IN CHAD
Six suspected Boko Haram members, including Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, son of the late founder of the Boko Haram terrorist sect, Mohammed Yusuf, were said to have been arrested in Chad.
One of the Nigerian intelligence sources in the Lake Chad region told AFP at the weekend that they received a report of the arrest of a six-man jihadist cell in Chad.
“The team was headed by Muslim, the youngest son of the late Boko Haram founder,” said the source.
The source said the cell belonged to the Islamic State West Africa Province group, a rival offshoot which splintered off from Boko Haram over ideological disagreements.
The source said 18-year-old Yusuf, known by his alias, Abdrahman Mahamat Abdoulaye, was detained alongside five other suspected militants in N’Djamena by Chadian authorities during a counter-terror sweep.
Photos seen by AFP after the arrests of Yusuf and five others in Chad show a slender young man in a blue tracksuit with a striking resemblance to Yusuf, standing next to far older men.
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The spokesman of the Chadian Police, Paul Manga, told AFP from N’djamena that those arrested were “bandits who operate in the city…they are undocumented, they are members of Boko Haram.”
But Nigerian intelligence suggested that Yusuf’s cell was part of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a splinter group that broke away from Boko Haram in 2016 over ideological differences.
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Checks showed that Yusuf, whose father was killed in 2009 during a Nigerian military crackdown that left about 800 people dead, is also the younger brother of Habib Yusuf (alias Abu Mus’ab al-Barnawi), the current ISWAP leader.
A former Boko Haram lieutenant familiar with the group’s inner workings, but who has since renounced the movement, also confirmed the arrest, describing it as a “major symbolic victory” in the fight against insurgency in the region.
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Little is known about Muslim, but his eldest brother, al Barnawi, Born Habib Yusuf, served as a spokesperson for Boko Haram under Abubakar Shekau before he became the splinter leader of Boko Haram.
After the death of their father in police custody in 2009, Shekau became the leader of the group. So, Barnawi served as a spokesperson for Boko Haram, but frequently clashed with Shekau and other senior leaders.
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The Nigeria’s military high command had, in June, said 14,138 terrorists and other criminals were arrested in two years as well as hundreds of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition recovered.
A car burnt during an attack in Hawul, Borno State
Arrest will aid investigation into terrorism – Experts
A security expert and former director of the Department of State Service, Mike Ejiofor, in an interview with one of our correspondents, urged the Chadian authorities to repatriate Yusuf to Nigeria “so that he would be a big asset for our security agencies in terms of investigation.
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“Don’t also forget that our security operatives are carrying out many undercover operations without coming out to tell the public what they are doing.”
He attributed Yusuf’s arrest to the multinational cooperation among Nigeria, Chad and other border countries.
“It’s a breakthrough, and my advice at this stage is for the public to cooperate with our security agencies by volunteering information; they don’t need to be afraid, because it’s a collective responsibility.
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“But again, I will suggest that the government should not fully concentrate on the kinetic approach, it should also bring a non-kinetic approach.
“All those people in the IDP camps, give them assurances to go back to their ancestral homes, and you need to rehabilitate them and provide some basic amenities to the populace. That will help in strengthening laws and order,” Ejiofor.
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A retired Major, Bashir Galma, described the arrests as a positive sign, asking security agencies to continue to provide information about the profile of those arrested.
A retired Group Captain, John Ojikutu, who also spoke to Daily Trust on the arrests of Yusuf and five others, urged that the funding of terrorists be probed and their sponsors arrested.
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He stated: “They (terrorists) have more sophisticated weapons than our own soldiers, where did they get the money to buy them? These are the areas they have to start from. Somebody is sponsoring them.
“Even if you arrest them, the problem again is that they go public and make it look as if they are doing something.
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“Sit these people (terrorists) down and ask them: ‘these guns you are carrying, where did you get the money (to purchase them) from? Then, you now trace it. Where did you buy it? How much did you buy it? Where did you get the money from? You must trace it back to somebody.’
“To me, all those being picked are not the main people. It is the people that are sponsoring them. Where are they coming from? The problem is, someone is sponsoring them inside this country. We have to find that one out.”
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According to him, only 10 percent of the problem has been solved with the recent arrest, saying the bigger problem still remains unresolved.
“Just give them another two or three weeks, you will not hear anything again because these are not the people we should be bothering ourselves about.
“Who are the people sponsoring them? Who are they working for? Where is the source of money coming from? They are about three layers. Who are the people training them? They are getting arms, who are the people supplying arms to them? Not in terms of paying for it but buying the arms and dropping it for them. Who are they? These are the areas our intelligence should work on and find out.
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“When you pick this, pick that, you are just solving about 10 percent of your problems. The question I ask is that: how many have they picked? How many have they charged?
“The more of them you pick, the more of them you jail, the less the disturbance but if you are picking them and you are not doing anything about them, there is no solution to the problem you think you’re solving.”
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US lauds FG over Ansaru leaders’ arrests
Meanwhile, the United States has commended the Nigerian government and security forces over the arrest of two wanted Ansaru terrorist leaders, describing it as a significant step in the country’s fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
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In a statement posted on its official X handle yesterday, the US Mission in Nigeria identified the arrested suspects as Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, and Mahmud al-Nigeri, also known as Mallam Mamuda.
The Mission said their capture represented a major breakthrough against Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, widely known as Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda–linked group that had carried out deadly attacks in Nigeria for over a decade.
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“We commend the Nigerian Government and security forces on the successful arrest of wanted Ansaru leaders, Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a) and Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda). This is a significant step forward in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and extremism,” the US Mission said.
The US expressed optimism that the arrests would further weaken the group’s operational capacity and strengthen regional and international counterterrorism cooperation.
