Skip to main content

Expert demand action on terror funding in Northeast

Saheed also noted that weak security and surveillance at national borders contribute to the issue of terrorism financing in Nigeria.

A communications expert and analyst, Muhammed I. Saheed, has called for an end to terrorist financing and extremism in the Northeast.

Saheed stated this in an open letter made available to Pulse on Saturday, May 18.

He stated that terrorism constitutes a global threat, and Nigeria, unfortunately, is one of the countries that faces a high level of terrorism.

While attempts to combat terrorism and violent extremism in the Northeast of Nigeria continue, Saheed said policy attention has been shifted towards many sources of terrorism financing, which have continued to fuel terrorism and other violent conflicts in Nigeria.

He said, “Without doubt, terrorism finance is the backbone of terrorist groups as funds go into buying weapons, recruiting militants, and operating terrorist organisations. Just as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) puts it, “terrorist groups need money to sustain themselves and carry out terrorist acts”.

“Terrorist financing, in this context, encompasses the means and methods used by terrorist organisations to finance their activities, leveraging funds from legitimate sources such as business profits and charitable organisations, or from illegal activities including trafficking in weapons, drugs or people, or kidnapping.”

He blamed poor governance and corruption as a major cause of terrorism and violent extremism, which are among observed cases in the North-East of Nigeria.

Saheed also noted that the religious dimension, which has to do with extremism, hard beliefs, and ideologies held and taught by some religious leaders, has led to indulgence in the North East.

He further noted that the consequences of terrorism have continued to aggravate extreme poverty rates among Nigerians, internal displacement, and devastated livelihoods, just as opportunities for broader growth, development and prosperity are destroyed.

Saheed said, “The increasing concerns about the financing of terrorist activities within the country have triggered unfavourable indices from the 2023 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), which ranks Nigeria eighth among the top ten countries with the greatest levels of terrorism in the world.

“In March 2024, the Federal Government naming 15 entities including nine individuals and six Bureau De Change operators and firms that are said to be involved in terrorism financing has highlighted the pressing issue of terrorism and terrorist financing in the country.”

Lapses in law enforcement

As contained in the piece, Saheed also noted that weak security and surveillance at national borders contribute to the issue of terrorism financing in Nigeria.

He said, “It has been observed in recent engagements by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) financed by GIABA-ECOWAS that poor collaboration on the part of law enforcement and regulatory agencies has contributed to the problem of terrorist financing in Nigeria.

“More importantly, the capacity gaps within law enforcement and regulatory agencies also hamper efforts to address the challenge of terrorism financing effectively. These institutions must be adequately equipped and trained to detect and disrupt the financial networks of terrorist organisations.”

Need for financial sector reform

Saheed also trickled down the issues of terror financing to the financial sector, noting that financial activities like Bureau de Change operators, Point of Sale (POS) devices, wire transfers, and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, among other enabling platforms, are expanding the scope and depth of terrorism financing.

“It is worrisome that illegal money exchangers, including Bureau De Change, have been featured in several Terrorism Financing investigations. The 2022 National Inherent Risk Assessment of Terrorism Financing report reveals that between 2019 and 2022, about 19 companies were linked to illegal money exchangers who have used their companies to comingle funds considered to be linked to Terrorism Financing.

“Furthermore, while the Banking sector in particular has in recent times been subjected to strict regulations that intend to increase transparency and identify suspicious transactions; however, studies illustrate that the Banking sector continues to offer opportunities for terrorist financing; as current measures employed by banks have proven ineffective due to the knowledge gap that surrounds concrete methods terrorist financiers employ,” he added.

ridoola.blogspot.com.ng

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

EFCC insists on presentation of Grace Tiaga's death certificate in P&ID case

Tiaga's counsel communicated the unavailability of the death certificate, requesting additional time. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is steadfast in its demand for the death certificate of the late Grace Tiaga, a former director of legal services at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, to be submitted in court. Tiaga faced charges brought by the EFCC, alleging her involvement in receiving payments from Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) to manipulate the 20-year gas supply and processing agreement (GSPA) against Nigeria. The EFCC claims that these illicit payments were made through her daughter and persisted even after her retirement. The accusations extend to Tiaga's purported failure to adhere to due process while providing legal counsel on the GSPA. Initially facing eight counts of fraud, she was remanded to Suleja prison in 2019, later granted bail, and the charges were expanded to 13 counts. As the trial progressed, the prosecution p

Buhari: Keyamo says recession started in 2014, not under President

He said the economic conditions that led to the recession in 2016 actually started in 2014 under another government. The spokesperson for the President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation, Festus Keyamo, has cautioned Nigerians against blaming the president for the period of recession experienced under its administration because it started before he assumed office. Even though Nigeria slipped into its worst recession in 29 years after a 2.06% contraction in the economy between April and June 2016, a year after Buhari's inauguration, Keyamo said the economic decay had been set in motion by the previous government.   While speaking on Channels Television on Monday, May 28, 2018, Keyamo said Nigeria would have been in a worse shape if Buhari had not been elected to arrest the economic slide with his two-pronged approach of investing in infrastructure and diversifying the economy. He said, "I think this government should be judged by the numbers and not by emotions; and

Buhari may attend Nigeria’s Super Eagles clash with Black Stars of Ghana

The minister said Buhari asked him why he didn't go to Ghana to watch the first leg of the playoff. Sunday Dare, Nigeria’s Minister of Youth and Sports Development, has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari may attend the 2022 World Cup Qualifier playoff between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Black Star of Ghana today. The crucial match will kick off at 6:00 pm Nigerian time. Dare said this president may possibly show up at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja to drum support for the Super Eagles against Ghana’s Black Stars. “I was in Lagos on Tuesday, March 22, and the President asked me why was I not in Ghana and I realized that the President also knows that there is a Ghana match,” the minister was quoted to have said. Dare said the president has not given him 100 percent assurance that he would attend the second leg but he is “ likely going to show up here on the 29th as a surprise.” Meanwhile, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Nigeria Footba