The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit has uncovered an emerging network allegedly being used to raise and channel funds to terrorist groups through crowdfunding, proxy bank accounts, mobile banking channels and other sophisticated financial arrangements.
The disclosure is contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report, which identified several methods allegedly adopted by terrorist financiers to conceal the source, movement and final beneficiaries of illicit funds.
According to the report, foreign-based facilitators have been using social media platforms to solicit donations under the guise of humanitarian relief and educational support before transferring the funds through several layers to terrorist operatives in Nigeria.
The NFIU said the crowdfunding operations typically involve hundreds of sympathisers making relatively small donations, ranging from $50 to $500. The relatively low-value payments are reportedly structured to reduce the likelihood of triggering automated anti-money laundering alerts.
The agency explained that funds raised through such campaigns are subsequently pooled into a master account controlled by a senior member of the network, often based legally outside Nigeria.
Once the accumulated funds reach a particular threshold, the master account allegedly becomes the centre for onward transfers.
The NFIU said the money is then divided into numerous smaller payments and transferred through International Money Transfer Operators and remittance applications to networks of money mules in Nigeria. Students, small-business owners and relatives were identified among individuals allegedly used as intermediaries.
According to the report, the funds may subsequently be converted into cash or used to acquire items described as having potential dual uses, including motorcycles, fertilisers and satellite internet equipment, before being transferred to logistics managers and field operatives.
The NFIU also identified what it described as an emerging use of gender-based proxy accounts in terrorist financing.
The report said terrorist financiers were allegedly opening bank accounts in women’s names while male commanders or logistics managers secretly controlled the accounts.
According to the intelligence agency, wives, sisters and female associates could be used as fronts to distance illicit financial transactions from the actual beneficiaries.
The NFIU described the practice as a form of identity laundering, noting that men could control ATM cards, mobile banking credentials and PINs associated with accounts registered in women’s names. In some cases, the women may allegedly be unaware of the transactions or the volume of funds passing through their accounts.
The report further revealed that terrorist facilitators were allegedly using telephone numbers that were not registered to the actual account holders or beneficiaries for mobile banking and transaction alerts.
The NFIU said pre-registered SIM cards, numbers registered to deceased persons and SIMs linked to gender-based proxies were among the methods allegedly used to weaken the connection between bank accounts, telephone numbers and Bank Verification Numbers.
The agency warned that such practices could make it difficult for investigators to establish the real identity of individuals controlling accounts involved in suspicious transactions.
The NFIU also highlighted the use of detailed and coded transaction descriptions to disguise terrorist-related financial activities.
According to the report, terrorist cells, particularly those linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province, allegedly use precise transaction narrations as part of an internal financial accounting system.
The agency said frequent logistics-related payments with detailed descriptions were observed moving from a single source to multiple recipients, suggesting an organised financial structure within the networks.
It added that some facilitators also used seemingly harmless words, secret codes and alphanumeric combinations in transaction descriptions, sometimes switching between languages to evade automated banking filters.
Beyond terrorist financing, the NFIU said its 2025 analysis identified an increasingly interconnected threat involving financial crime, technology and cross-border activities.
Fraud remained a major predicate offence, with the agency highlighting the growth of Ponzi schemes, fraudulent crowdfunding arrangements, cryptocurrency-enabled investment scams and hacking-related fraud.
The report also pointed to vulnerabilities in fintech onboarding systems, particularly tiered accounts requiring minimal identification, which criminals can allegedly exploit to recruit victims and move funds rapidly through digital platforms.
The NFIU also identified vulnerabilities in public-sector financial management, including the alleged diversion of state and local government funds through accounts belonging to finance officers and associated third parties.
Procurement processes and cash transactions were identified as significant risk areas because they can complicate financial audit trails and efforts to trace illicit assets.
Reacting to the development, security expert Chidi Omeje urged Nigeria’s security and financial intelligence institutions to strengthen their operational strategies in response to the growing sophistication of criminal and terrorist networks.
Omeje called for closer monitoring of illicit financial flows, stressing that security agencies must follow the money trail if they are to effectively disrupt criminal operations.
Another security analyst, Lawrence Alobi, called for stronger intelligence sharing between security agencies and financial institutions.
Alobi said banks must strengthen their verification procedures to ensure that accounts are controlled by the individuals whose identities are attached to them.
He also called for sanctions against financial institutions found to have facilitated or ignored loopholes exploited by criminal networks.
The NFIU’s findings underline the growing importance of financial intelligence in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and organised crime.
As criminal networks increasingly exploit digital platforms, fintech services, proxy identities and cross-border transfers, effective monitoring of financial transactions is likely to remain a critical component of national security efforts.
