The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has uncovered increasingly sophisticated methods allegedly being used by terrorist financiers to raise, conceal and transfer funds to operatives in Nigeria.
The findings were contained in the agency’s 2025 Annual Report, which highlighted the use of crowdfunding platforms, proxy bank accounts and telephone numbers registered to deceased persons as some of the methods being exploited to disguise illicit financial transactions.
According to the report, individuals operating from outside Nigeria have used social media platforms to solicit relatively small donations, often presenting the campaigns as humanitarian or educational initiatives. The funds are subsequently moved through multiple channels before allegedly reaching terrorist networks.
The NFIU said contributions typically ranged from $50 to $500 and were paid through platforms such as PayPal and regular bank accounts. The relatively low-value transactions were reportedly intended to make the movement of funds less likely to attract automated anti-money laundering alerts.
The money was allegedly accumulated in a central account controlled by a senior network member based overseas. After reaching a particular threshold, the funds were divided into smaller amounts and transferred through international remittance companies and money-transfer platforms to intermediaries in Nigeria.
Students, small-scale business operators and relatives were among those identified as being used as financial intermediaries.
The NFIU said the money could subsequently be withdrawn in cash or converted into goods, including motorcycles, fertilisers and satellite internet equipment, before being passed on to individuals responsible for logistics and field operations.
Female Accounts Used as Proxies
The financial intelligence agency also raised concerns about the use of women’s bank accounts to conceal the identities of individuals allegedly controlling terrorist funds.
According to the report, male commanders and logistics personnel sometimes operated accounts registered in the names of wives, sisters or other female associates. This arrangement could make it more difficult for investigators to establish who was actually benefiting from the transactions.
The NFIU noted that some of the account holders might have limited knowledge of the volume or nature of the transactions carried out through their accounts.
Deceased Persons’ Phone Numbers Exploited
The agency further identified the use of telephone lines that are not connected to the genuine owners of bank accounts as another challenge.
It said pre-registered SIM cards, numbers belonging to deceased individuals and telephone lines linked to proxy account holders were allegedly being used for mobile banking and transaction alerts.
Such practices, the agency explained, can make it harder for investigators to establish the person actually controlling an account or transferring the money.
Criminal Networks Using Coded Transactions
The NFIU also reported that terrorist organisations were becoming more sophisticated in disguising the purpose of financial transactions.
Some groups allegedly used coded descriptions, apparently harmless expressions, combinations of letters and numbers, and different languages when recording or describing payments. The agency said some cells linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province used detailed transaction narratives as part of their internal financial accounting.
The report noted that the problem extends beyond terrorism financing, with financial crime, technology and international transactions increasingly interconnected.
Fraud-related activities identified by the agency included Ponzi schemes, fraudulent crowdfunding operations, cryptocurrency investment scams and hacking-related offences. Criminal groups were also reportedly exploiting weaknesses in fintech onboarding processes, particularly systems requiring limited identification, to recruit victims and move illicit funds quickly.
Experts Call for Stronger Financial Monitoring
Security expert Chidi Omeje called for security and financial intelligence agencies to improve their capacity to track the increasingly complex methods used by criminal networks.
He urged agencies to place greater emphasis on following financial trails and disrupting suspicious transactions, while encouraging the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and financial regulators to strengthen monitoring efforts.
Another security analyst, Lawrence Alobi, advocated closer cooperation between security agencies and financial institutions.
Alobi called on banks to strengthen customer identification and verification procedures, particularly to prevent criminals from exploiting proxy accounts. He also advocated appropriate sanctions against financial institutions found to have knowingly facilitated illicit financial activities.
He stressed the importance of ensuring that bank accounts are connected to properly verified individuals so that criminals cannot easily hide behind false or proxy identities.
