It is perhaps trite to say never in the history of Nigeria have there been acts more shocking in violence and cruelty than the carnage that Boko Haram continues to perpetrate against innocent citizens. It is, therefore, appropriate to say never has there been a greater need for the Nigerian government to re-assert its control over the territory called Nigeria and assure all citizens of safety in their country. The murderous Islamist sect has continued to unleash mayhem on the Nigerian state, since launching their war in northeast Nigeria in 2009; killing over 350,000 people and displacing over three million from their homes, according to the UNDP. In the latest national security shock and a symbol of the government’s impotence, a band of armed men attacked the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna on August 24, killing two officers and abducting a third. The US Africa Command said in 2014 that it stopped sharing intelligence with Nigerian security forces because within hours, Boko Haram would get the intelligence. Therefore, reports of fifth columnists in the army and Nigerian politicians and government officials financing Boko Haram can no longer be taken lightly. Despite the demise of its leader, Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram is far from defeated, implying it still enjoys support. Availability of funds affects the scale and frequency of its attacks and with growing insecurity; analysts insist Boko Haram may indeed be getting richer and more sophisticated in its operations. Its weaponry has shifted from relatively cheap AK-47 rifles to combat vehicles, RPGs and anti-aircraft guns. This begs the question: are there really terrorist financiers working in the heart of Nigeria’s government?
In the febrile political backdrop of the 2023 general election, the accusations of retired Navy commodore against the government were explosive. In a recent TV interview, Kunle Olawunmi (Rtd) was unequivocal that the Nigerian government knows those behind the Boko Haram insurgency. He claimed the government has developed cold feet in fighting the insurgency because some of those backing Boko Haram are now top-ranking government officials. “I can’t come on air and start mentioning names of people that are presently in government that the boys we arrested mentioned,” he said, referencing his time as a member of the military intelligence team in 2017. “Some of them are governors now. Some of them are in the Senate. Some of them are in Aso Rock.” Blunt questions are also being asked about delays in prosecuting 400 currency traders charged in May by the Attorney-General of the Federation of being Boko Haram sponsors. The controversy intensified after the Federal Court of Appeals in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, sentenced six Nigerians to varying jail terms for transferring $782,000 from Dubai to Boko Haram in Nigeria.
The six Nigerians are: Abdurrahaman Ado Musa, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Muhammed Ibrahim Isa, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan and Surajo Abubakar Muhammad. Two of the six were sentenced to life imprisonment, four others to 10 years for violating of UAE anti-terrorism laws. Two Boko Haram agents in Nigeria, one of them a top government official received the funds, according to court filings. The defendants did neither denied the recipients were Boko Haram, nor did they deny transferring to money; rather, they argued that the transfer was not illegal. The six Nigerians were part of a 38-man list of Boko Haram sponsors, mostly Arabs from the Middle East, including 15 corporate entities named by the UAE as financiers of terrorism and other criminal activities.
The 38 individuals are: Ahmed Mohammed Abdulla Mohammed Alshaiba Alnuaimi (UAE), Mohamed Saqer Yousif Saqer Al Zaabi (UAE), Hamad Mohammed Rahmah Humaid Alshamsi (UAE), Saeed Naser Saeed Naser Alteneiji (UAE), Hassan Hussain Tabaja (Lebanon), Adham Hussain Tabaja (Lebanon), Mohammed Ahmed Musaed Saeed (Yemen), Hayder Habeeb Ali (Iraq), Basim Yousuf Hussein Alshaghanbi (Iraq), Sharif Ahmed Sharif Ba Alawi (Yemen), Manoj Sabharwal Om Prakash (India), Rashed Saleh Saleh Al Jarmouzi (Yemen), Naif Nasser Saleh Aljarmouzi (Yemen), Zubiullah Abdul Qahir Durani (Afghanistan), Suliman Saleh Salem Aboulan (Yemen), Adel Ahmed Salem Obaid Ali Badrah (Yemen), Ali Nasser Alaseeri (Saudi Arabia), Fadhl Saleh Salem Altayabi (Yemen), Ashur Omar Ashur Obaidoon (Yemen), Hazem Mohsen Farhan + Hazem Mohsen Al Farhan (Syria), Mehdi Azizollah Kiasati (Iran), Farshad Jafar Hakemzadeh (Iran), Seyyed Reza Mohmmad Ghasemi (Iran), Mohsen Hassan Kargarhodjat Abadi (Iran), Ibrahim Mahmood Ahmed Mohammed (Iran), Osama Housen Dughaem (Syria), Abdurrahaman Ado Musa (Nigeria), Salihu Yusuf Adamu (Nigeria), Bashir Ali Yusuf (Nigeria), Muhammed Ibrahim Isa (Nigeria), Ibrahim Ali Alhassan (Nigeria), Surajo Abubakar Muhammad (Nigeria), Alaa Khanfurah – Alaa Abdulrazzaq Ali Khanfurah – Alaa Alkhanfurah (Syria), Fadi Said Kamar (Great Britain), Walid Kamel Awad (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Khaled Walid Awad (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Imad Khallak Kantakdzhi (Russia) and Mouhammad Ayman Tayseer Rashid Marayat (Jordan).
The corporate entities are: Ray Tracing Trading Co LLC, HFZA Arzoo International FZE, Hanan Shipping LLC, Four Corners Trading Est, Sasco Logistic LLC, Al Jarmoozi General Trading LLC, Al Jarmoozi Cargo & Clearing LLC, Al Jarmoozi Transport By Heavy & Light Trucks LLC, Naser Aljarmouzi General Trading LLC, Naser Aljarmouzi Cargo & Clearing LLC, Wave Tech Computer LLC, NYBI Trading – FZE, KCL General Trading FZE, Alinma Group and Al-Omgy & Bros Money Exchange. From the style of operation, it is clear that the insurgents receive training, funding, and other forms of support from external state and non-state sources. Now that the UAE has provided the federal government with a list of individuals and their countries of origins, the Buhari administration should follow the leads of the identified individuals and which countries are involved, and deploy officials with the relevant intelligence-gathering skills to ascertain their motivations. It would not be out of place that the federal government avails itself of a broad range of advice from military and non-military citizens with experience in matters of this nature. Surely, ordinary Nigerians could launch an international naming and shaming campaign against the identified individuals and entities to help their country come out of these difficult times.
Terrorism is an expensive venture and the lifeline of any terrorist organization is its capacity to finance its operations and recruit members. The sources of terrorists’ financing, however, continue to be as elusive as the terrorists themselves. The predominantly informal cash-based Nigerian economy has made the situation more complex. Boko Haram allegedly uses couriers to move cash inside Nigeria and across the porous borders from neighboring countries. Between 2006 and 2011, reports indicate that the group secured about $70 million from various illicit sources, operating as part of a criminal economic network that sustains its violent activities. Recently, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), a splinter group of Boko Haram, appointed new commanders and gave specific assignments to impose taxes on communities through trade and regulation of agricultural activities. The insurgency has been ongoing for almost 12 years and there is little indication the situation will improve.
In 2016, Boko Haram was ranked one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world. Many people wonder how these insurgents get access to a limitless amount of weapons, bombs, patrol vehicles and communication equipment. Unlike other terrorist organizations, Boko Haram insurgents live outside regular communities and require funds to run their camps, buy arms, feed their members and plan attacks on their targets. A recent UN report revealed that insurgents’ activities are nowadays funded through multiple sources, including extortions, taxes, protection fees, bank robberies, charitable donations, smuggling, foreign remittances and kidnapping. Multiple sources also indicate some insurgents receive support locally from religious sympathizers and wealthy northerners. Kidnapping-for-ransom long associated with Boko Haram as their major source of financing is a lucrative enterprise that has now become a full-blown industry.
Another source of funding for insurgents is lucrative commercial fishing and farming of red pepper. Reports suggests Boko Haram controls fishing in Baga, in Borno State, and has created a new regime of levies and secure routes for fish trade in the Lake Chad Basin. According to the World Food Program, the combined fish and pepper trade contributed about $48 million which the insurgents now use to consolidate their finances and grow their influence. It is also believed many northern politicians, especially governors and parliamentarians regularly pay protection money to keep Boko Haram out of their way. Although these politicians publicly disavow Boko Haram, there is evidence that they use these terrorists to rig elections and terrorize their opponents – a double standard which the terrorists use for leverage. This official hypocrisy has led to a lack of diligent prosecution.
Understanding the networks, interests and incentives involved in the criminal economy sustaining Boko Haram, and their franchise insurgency outposts, will help unmask their criminal ecosystem in Nigeria, the Lake Chad Basin and across the Sahel. International cooperation is key, to track and choke Boko Haram’s financial and operational infrastructure. The Nigerian government may have allowed the Boko Haram menace to fester for too long. Obviously, this is not the kind of war that conventional soldiers are familiar with. The overall impression is that the terrorists are proactive while security forces are reactive. This is not good enough: a band of insurgents cannot be allowed to dictate the pace of action in its confrontation with the security apparatus of the Nigerian state. Therefore, a new strategy is required to confront it, beginning with disrupting its finances. But before authorities can cut off Boko Haram funding, they have to find it. This would go a long way towards degrading and eventually decapitating and vanquishing Boko Haram.
