- SaharaReporters exclusively uncovered a network of 23 suspected Boko Haram financiers—including 20 Nigerians and three international figures—who engaged in billions of Naira and millions of dollars in suspicious cross-border transactions linked to weapons procurement and previously convicted terrorists.
SaharaReporters has obtained exclusive details on a vast network of 20 Nigerian and three international individuals suspected of financing and facilitating terrorism, particularly for Boko Haram. The investigation identified the actors, whose combined accounts reflect billions in suspicious transactions, with some Nigerian suspects having inflows exceeding $\text{N}60$ billion. The financial trail highlights extensive links to convicted terrorists, money laundering, and international arms procurement. However, the Nigerian suspects, initially arrested in 2021, were subsequently released under “questionable circumstances.”
The identified Nigerian financiers, mostly Kano-based businessmen like Alhaji Saidu Ahmed, Usaini Adamu, and Muhammad Sani Adam, are directly linked to convicted individuals through massive transfers and guarantees. International suspects include deceased Rwandan businessman Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa, his son Paul Nkwaya of Leaf Tobacco & Commodities, and Nigerien arms dealer Aboubacar Hima, who facilitated transfers exceeding $\$1.19$ million from the UAE. “The network identified in this report spans both Nigerian and international actors, with clear links to convicted individuals involved in terrorism.”