Nigeria to Unmask Terrorism Financiers Soon – Defence Chief
Nigeria to Unmask Terrorism Financiers Soon – Defence Chief
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has said that the names of individuals and groups financing terrorism in the country will soon be made public.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Thursday night, Musa disclosed that the process of identifying and prosecuting financiers is ongoing but slowed down by legal and international complications.
“We know them. Some of the funds come from outside, and there are legal issues tied to international connections. The local ones usually employ individuals, provide motorcycles for them, and have them remit money into certain accounts daily. These flows are being tracked,” he explained.
The Defence Chief commended the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for its role in exposing financial trails linked to terrorists. He noted that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, alongside other intelligence agencies, are working to ensure financiers are brought to justice.
Musa also revealed that some Nigerian politicians were under scrutiny for allegedly funding violence to serve personal interests. “Criminals work together; terrorists and bandits share a common goal—money and the suffering of communities,” he said.
While pressed on whether political sponsors of terrorism have already been identified, Musa responded that “work is in progress.”
Nigeria continues to grapple with escalating insecurity, with the North-east enduring Boko Haram insurgency and the North-west ravaged by armed banditry, both leaving widespread death and displacement in their wake.
By Haruna Yakubu Haruna
