Gold trade, international networks funding terrorism in Nigeria – CDS
By: Zagazola Makama
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has identified gold trade and complex international financial networks as major sources of funding for terrorist groups operating in Nigeria.
Musa made this known on Thursday while featuring as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Todayprogramme.
He explained that the financing structure of terror organisations was deliberately sophisticated, making it difficult to immediately expose or prosecute those behind it.
“Gold. That is the main source. They try to circulate this money, and that is why it is important for us to be able to track these things.
“The process is ongoing, but it has to do with a lot of legal issues. Because it involves international connections, with some funds coming from outside the country, we cannot do anything strictly from within,” Musa said.
The defence chief further disclosed that locally, terrorists employ individuals through informal arrangements such as providing motorcycles and menial jobs, with the condition that beneficiaries remit funds into designated accounts daily.
“The local ones, what they do normally is that they try to employ a few individuals, provide motorcycles to them, something to do, and those are remitting funds daily into some account,” he said.
Musa stressed that the fight against terror financing required both international collaboration and strong domestic legal frameworks to track and disrupt the flow of funds.
According to him, ongoing military operations across theatres are recording successes, but cutting off the financial lifeline of terror groups remains critical to dismantling their networks.
