1 - Financing Terrorism in Nigeria: Cutting off the Oxygen
Corresponding Author(s) : Christiana Ejura Attah
Africa Development,
Vol. 44 No. 2 (2019): Africa Development: Special Issue on Money, Security and Democratic Governance in Africa (II)
Abstract
The growth and continued spread of terrorism world-wide has been accentuated by the important role played by finance. Terrorist organisations will not survive for long without finance because terrorism is an expensive venture which requires constant supply of money for its sustenance. While the terrorists of old relied on crude implements such as daggers and knives which could easily be sourced, today’s terrorists often need more sophisticated weapons for their operations. Terrorist organisations also require money to run their camps, feed their members and plan and carry out attacks on their targets. Although it may be conceded that cutting off the source of terror financing may not completely eradicate terrorism, it may affect the frequency and magnitude of attacks undertaken by terrorist groups. This article analyses the role of finance in the activities of terrorist organisations, with emphasis on the Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria and the attempts by the Nigerian government to curb the activities of this and other similar groups in the country through the use of law. Relying on doctrinal sources, the article concludes that more needs to be done to effectively cut off the various sources of finance open to terrorist organisations in Nigeria.
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- Anaedozie, F., 2016. ‘Is Grand Corruption the Cancer of Nigeria? A Critical Discussion in the Light of an Exchange of Presidential Letters’. European Scientific Journal, 12(5), pp.11-34
- Arabinda, A., 2009, Targeting Terrorist Financing: International Cooperation and New Regimes, New York: Routledge.
- Barber, S. 2011, ‘The “new economy of terror”: thefinancing of Islamist terrorism’, Global Security Studies2 (1): 1–13.
- Blanchard, L.P., 2014, Nigeria’s Boko Haram: Frequently Asked Questions, report prepared by the US Congressional Research Service.
- Costa, A.M., 2010, Digest of Terrorist Cases, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
- EFCC,For the Records: 2013 Convictions, https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/images/EFCC_2013_Convictions.pdf, accessed 4 January 2017.
- Ehrenfeld, R., 2003, Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed – and How To Stop It, New York: American Center for Democracy.
- FATF Report, 2014, ‘Risk of Terrorist Abuse in Non-Profit Organisations’, http://www.fatfgafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Risk-of-terrorist-abuse-in-non-profit-organisations.pdf, accessed 4 January 2017.
- Financial Action Task Force Report, 2008, Terrorist Financing, http://www.fatfgafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/FATF%20Terrorist%20Financing%20Typologies%20Report.pdf, accessed January 2017.
- Gardner, K.L., 2007, ‘Fighting terrorism the FATF way’, Global Governance13 (3): 325–45.
- Gurule, J., 2004, ‘Unfunding terror: perspectives on unfunding terror (Panel One)’, Journal Articles Paper 469, http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/469utm_source=scholarship.law.nd.edu%2law_faculty_scholarship%2F469&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages, accessed 3 November 2017.
- Ladan, M.T., 2013, ‘Appraisal of legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks in combating money laundering and terrorism financing in Nigeria’, http://ssrn.com/abstract=2336025, accessed 4 January 2017.
- McCoy, T. 2014, ‘This is how Boko Haram funds its evil’, Washington Post.
- Napoleoni, L., 2005, Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars behind the Terror Networks, New York: Seven Stories Press.
- Robinson J., 1994, The Laundrymen: Inside the World’s Third Largest Business, London: Simon & Schuster.
- Rosendorff, B.P. and Sandler, T., 2005, ‘The political economy of transnational terrorism’, Journal of Conflict Resolution 49 (2):171–82.
- Weber, P., 2014, ‘Who’s financing Boko Haram?’, The Week, http://theweek.com/articles/447032/whos-financing-boko-haram, accessed 20 November 2017.
- Weiss, M.A., 2005, Terrorist Financing: The 9/11 Commission Recommendation, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, 3, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RS21902.pdf, accessed 3 January 2017.
References
Anaedozie, F., 2016. ‘Is Grand Corruption the Cancer of Nigeria? A Critical Discussion in the Light of an Exchange of Presidential Letters’. European Scientific Journal, 12(5), pp.11-34
Arabinda, A., 2009, Targeting Terrorist Financing: International Cooperation and New Regimes, New York: Routledge.
Barber, S. 2011, ‘The “new economy of terror”: thefinancing of Islamist terrorism’, Global Security Studies2 (1): 1–13.
Blanchard, L.P., 2014, Nigeria’s Boko Haram: Frequently Asked Questions, report prepared by the US Congressional Research Service.
Costa, A.M., 2010, Digest of Terrorist Cases, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
EFCC,For the Records: 2013 Convictions, https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/images/EFCC_2013_Convictions.pdf, accessed 4 January 2017.
Ehrenfeld, R., 2003, Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed – and How To Stop It, New York: American Center for Democracy.
FATF Report, 2014, ‘Risk of Terrorist Abuse in Non-Profit Organisations’, http://www.fatfgafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Risk-of-terrorist-abuse-in-non-profit-organisations.pdf, accessed 4 January 2017.
Financial Action Task Force Report, 2008, Terrorist Financing, http://www.fatfgafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/FATF%20Terrorist%20Financing%20Typologies%20Report.pdf, accessed January 2017.
Gardner, K.L., 2007, ‘Fighting terrorism the FATF way’, Global Governance13 (3): 325–45.
Gurule, J., 2004, ‘Unfunding terror: perspectives on unfunding terror (Panel One)’, Journal Articles Paper 469, http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/469utm_source=scholarship.law.nd.edu%2law_faculty_scholarship%2F469&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages, accessed 3 November 2017.
Ladan, M.T., 2013, ‘Appraisal of legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks in combating money laundering and terrorism financing in Nigeria’, http://ssrn.com/abstract=2336025, accessed 4 January 2017.
McCoy, T. 2014, ‘This is how Boko Haram funds its evil’, Washington Post.
Napoleoni, L., 2005, Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars behind the Terror Networks, New York: Seven Stories Press.
Robinson J., 1994, The Laundrymen: Inside the World’s Third Largest Business, London: Simon & Schuster.
Rosendorff, B.P. and Sandler, T., 2005, ‘The political economy of transnational terrorism’, Journal of Conflict Resolution 49 (2):171–82.
Weber, P., 2014, ‘Who’s financing Boko Haram?’, The Week, http://theweek.com/articles/447032/whos-financing-boko-haram, accessed 20 November 2017.
Weiss, M.A., 2005, Terrorist Financing: The 9/11 Commission Recommendation, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, 3, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RS21902.pdf, accessed 3 January 2017.