Terrorists Using Social Media, Remittance Platforms to Finance Operations — Security Expert
Security analyst and lawyer, Dr Bulama Bukarti, has raised the alarm over the growing sophistication of terrorism financing in Nigeria, saying terrorist groups are exploiting social media and international remittance platforms to raise and move funds into the country.
Bukarti, who spoke on Channels Television on Tuesday, said foreign-based individuals linked to terrorist financing were increasingly using digital platforms to solicit donations, often disguising the appeals as humanitarian or educational support.
He cited a report by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, which he said documented cases in which individuals abroad solicited funds through platforms such as Telegram and Instagram.
According to him, donations ranging from $50 to $500 were allegedly pooled into a central account before being broken into smaller amounts and transferred to different recipients in Nigeria through international money transfer platforms.
“These people are doing all of this in order to evade Nigeria’s tightening financial regulations,” Bukarti said.
He urged Nigerians to exercise caution when responding to online fundraising appeals, stressing that his warning was not intended to discourage legitimate humanitarian or educational donations.
“It is not a call for us to stop supporting humanitarian or educational appeals. It is a call for us to do our due diligence, know the person you are donating to and make sure you trust them,” he said.
Bukarti also called for stronger integration of Bank Verification Numbers, BVNs, with Subscriber Identification Module, SIM, cards, arguing that weaknesses in the financial and telecommunications identification systems could be exploited to facilitate terrorism financing.
He alleged that accounts belonging to deceased persons, as well as accounts controlled by third parties, had been used to move funds for terrorist activities.
“We need to strengthen the linkage between Bank Verification Numbers and SIM cards. The NFIU and the Nigerian Communications Commission must work together to ensure that only properly registered and verified SIM cards are linked to bank accounts and used for financial transactions,” he said.
Bukarti stressed the importance of financial intelligence in combating terrorism, saying, “The only way to defeat terrorism is to follow the money.”
He further warned Nigerians against accepting packages or transporting items on behalf of people they do not know or trust.
“People need to be careful. If someone says, ‘carry this for me’, trust them first and make sure you know what you are carrying,” he cautioned.
On the issue of jungle justice, Bukarti condemned mob action, describing it as a threat to the rule of law and public order.
“Jungle justice is not justice. It is injustice, and it is cruel, and it only sends a country into anarchy,” he said.
He argued that failures by government agencies, security forces or law enforcement authorities to promptly investigate crimes did not justify extrajudicial punishment by members of the public.
“The failure by government or security and law enforcement agencies doesn’t justify jungle justice,” he said, urging authorities to ensure prompt investigation and prosecution of suspected offenders.
Bukarti also advocated a multinational security pact involving Nigeria, Niger and Benin Republic to address emerging terrorist corridors and strengthen cross-border security cooperation.
“Nigeria needs to do more,” he said, stressing that disrupting the financial networks sustaining terrorist groups was critical to weakening their operational capacity.
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