The Nigerian government has identified 15 entities including nine individuals and six Bureau De Change (BDC) operators and companies suspected to be involved in the funding of terrorism in the country.
The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in an email to Punch disclosed information about the suspects in a report titled “Identification of Persons and Organizations as of March 18, 2024” after the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) convened.
NSC after the meeting revealed the names of certain individuals and entities to be sanctioned due to their ties to the financing of terrorism.
Notable mentions include Tukur Mamu who has been accused of financing the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists and others linked to terrorist groups such as Boko Hàram and Ansarul MusIimina Fi BiIadissudam.
“The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, with the approval of the President, has thereupon designated the following individuals and entities to be listed on the Nigeria Sanctions List,” the document read.
Mamu is a publisher from Kaduna State who is currently undergoing trial by the Nigerian Government on suspicions of funding the terrorists who were alleged to have been involved in the March 2022 attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train.
Apart from Mamu, the document also revealed Yusuf Ghazali, Muhammad Sani, Abubakar Muhammad, Sallamudeen Hassan, Adamu Ishak, Hassana-Oyiza Isah, Abdulkareem Musa and Umar Abdullahi.
The six BDCs and firms listed in terrorism funding in Nigeria include West and East Africa General Trading Company Limited, Settings Bureau De Change Ltd, G. Side General Enterprises, Desert Exchange Ventures Limited, Eagle Square General Trading Company Limited and Alfa Exchange BDC.
According to the document released by NFIU, “Mamu participated in the financing of terrorism by receiving and delivering ransome payments over the sum of $200,000 US in support of ISWAP terrorists for the release of hostages of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack”.
“One of the individuals is the suspected attacker of the St. Francis Catholic Church Owo, Ondo State on June 5, 2022 and the Kuje Correctional Center, Abuja on July 5, 2022.
“Another individual is a member of the terrorist group, Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladissudam which is associated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
“The subject was trained and served under Muktar Belmokhtar, aka One Eyed Out, led Al-Murabtoun Katibat of AQIM in Algeria and Mali.”
The NFIU added that the individual “specialises in designing terrorist clandestine communication code and he is also an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) expert.”
The subject, according to NFIU was also a gate keeper to ANSARU leader, Mohammed Usman aka Khalid Al-Bamawi as well as a courier and travel guide to AQIM Katibat in the desert of Algeria and Mali.
He is also said to be into carpentry while the document indicated that the subject fled Kuje correctional centre on July 5, 2022 and is currently at large.
