Chad’s former prime minister and leader of the opposition party has been arrested from his home on Friday, according to his party.

“Succes Masra was taken by military means from our residence today Friday, May 16, at 5.56 am (0456GMT),” the party announced on Facebook.

A Facebook post by Ndolembai Sade Njesada, vice president of the Transformers opposition party headed by Masra, showed footage of what appeared to be uniformed armed men escorting Masra out of a residential building. Masra’s house is also the party headquarters.

However, the government says the opposition figure was detained for alleged involvement in violence.

According to the N'Djamena Public Prosecutor's Office, Succès Masra was arrested as part of an investigation into an attack on March 14, 2024, in Mandakao, a town near the Cameroonian border.

The authorities say investigations revealed that he "disseminated messages on social media calling on the population to arm themselves against a local community."

Masra is the main rival of President Mahamat Idriss Deby who came to power in 2021 after the death of his father President Idriss Deby Itno, on the battlefield.

Election contest

The president’s death triggered a transition period, and his son assumed the leadership of the Military Transitional Council.

In the ensuing months, Mahamat Deby promised that elections would be held after an 18-month transition and that power would be handed over to civilians.

But in October 2022, the National Dialogue Forum extended the transition period by another two years, allowing him to run for president in the 2024 elections, which he won with 61% of the vote.

Succes Masra contested against Deby despite being his PM. Masra got 18.5% of the vote and contested the results.