What Boko Haram Do With The N11bn Given To them By Sponsors — TCA Reveals
2014-05-04 13:57
In what is turning out to be a DOUBLE WAMMY for residents of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, they would now have to contend with the episodic threats of bombings and bombings by members of the Jama’atu Ahliss-Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, popularly known as Boko Haram, on the one hand; and the lock down of the city because of this week’s World Economic Forum Africa summit holding in Abuja, on the other.
Yet, after the summit, would the city remain in lockdown mode? This report examines, once again, Nigeria’s response to the insurgency that has crippled the North-east zone and which has made the city of Abuja a high value target.
Worse still, the philistinic collaboration between Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP; Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM; Hezbollah; Al-Shabab and Boko Haram makes the containment all the more challenging.
Yet, some girls earlier abducted from Kondugha and Buni Yadi are not even on the table for discussion but the sheer number of the girls abducted in Chibok is what has made this incident remain in the front burner.
By Jide Ajani
HARVEST OF FUNDS
They made about $70million (about N11 billion) between 2006 and 2011. That was what members of the Jama’atu Ahliss-Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, popularly known as Boko Haram, harnessed. This revelation was made last week by a retired American military personnel of Nigerian descent, Major Chris Moghalu, on national television.
But Sunday Vanguard has also discovered that many of the bank raids and armed robbery occurrences which became rampant in some parts of the North were orchestrated by members of the sect.
A security source, while corroborating some of the revelations by Major Moghalu, disclosed that the funds did not just come from one mono-source of one trans-national criminal activity.
TRANS-NATIONAL CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES
With a clever web of a series of trans-national organized criminal activities, Boko Haram, a mere assembly of rag-tag political thugs masquerading as Islamic evangelists, has been able to rake in so much money from its sponsors. In the process, the group is also demonstrating that it can inflict maximum catastrophe and destruction on the nation.
The trans-national crimes used to secure funds for the group include but are not limited to the following: drug trafficking, smuggling, weapons trafficking, money laundering, kidnap for ransom, opinion sale and outright armed robbery.
CASH: AQAP and AQIM TO THE RESCUE
It was gathered that the involvement of AQAP and AQIM, as well as Al Shabab from the East African flank, “has made the movement of funds very fluid and multi-optional”, the security source disclosed.
Sunday Vanguard had exclusively reported on September 23, 2012, that one of the money couriers of Boko Haram was arrested with N4.5million. ‘The accountant’ was said to be in transit between Kano and Zaria with the cash belonging to the Islamist group when men of the JTF intercepted and arrested him.
Sunday Vanguard sources said he was travelling in a commuter bus as a cover. The arrest came barely two days after security agents tracked and killed Boko Haram spokesman, Abu Qaqa, in an operation in Kano.
The Islamist group’s ‘accountant’, it was learnt, embarked on the journey which originated from Maiduguri, Borno State, to make cash transfers. The sources said his cover blew after he and another associate made some money transfers in Kano, an action that aroused the curiosity of bank officials who alerted security agents.
The associate was arrested but, by then, the ‘accountant’ was already on his way to Zaria. Subsequent manhunt yielded fruit as the ‘Boko Haram accountant’ was arrested in transit.
In fact, Sunday Vanguard was made to understand that “the arrest was responsible for the seeming lull in the activities of the sect in the Kaduna/Kano axis for a few months.”
INVASION BY FOREIGNERS
In the area of collaboration, Sunday Vanguard found that the foot soldiers for AQAP and AQIM are now in Nigeria operating alongside Boko Haram.
As part of the network, it was discovered during investigation that the seeming exploits of the group in recent weeks is a direct function of the involvement and full participation of members of AQAP and AQIM.
As a grand design to score maximum publicity (notoriety) with their activities in Nigeria, Sunday Vanguard was made to understand that the trio of AQAP, AQIM and Al-Shabab decided to deploy resources with a view to executing terror campaigns in Nigeria.
A security source pointed out that “whereas there are still pockets of Boko Haram members domiciled in the country and are being picked up, the terrorists involved in cross-border activities are largely made up of foreigners”.
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