ABUJA — The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has uncovered an emerging crowdfunding network being exploited by terrorist financiers to raise and channel funds for their operations, according to the agency’s 2025 Annual Report .
The report revealed that foreign-based facilitators are using social media platforms to solicit donations under the guise of humanitarian relief or educational support, before moving the funds through multiple layers to terrorist operatives in Nigeria . Hundreds of sympathisers are encouraged to make relatively small donations ranging from $50 to $500 through PayPal pages or conventional bank accounts, with amounts deliberately kept low to evade automated anti-money laundering alerts .
The NFIU explained that the funds are subsequently pooled into a “master account” controlled by a senior member of the group living legally abroad . Once the pool reaches a threshold, the funds are fragmented into dozens of smaller payments and transferred through International Money Transfer Operators and remittance applications to a network of money mules in Nigeria . The agency identified students, small-business owners and relatives among those used as mules .
Upon receipt, the money is either converted to cash, used to purchase dual-use items such as motorcycles, fertilisers and satellite internet equipment, or transferred through mobile banking channels to logistics managers and field operatives . The report described the final stage as the “integration” of the funds into terrorist operational financing .
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