A sweeping intelligence investigation has uncovered a sprawling 23-man network of suspected terror financiers, whose banking footprints show billions of Naira in suspicious transactions, linking them directly to Boko Haram convicts and international arms channels.
The network – 20 Nigerians and 3 foreign nationals – spans multiple cities across the North and extends into the UAE, South Africa, and Niger Republic.
According to reports, confidential documents revealed that the group handled hundreds of billions of Naira, funnelling funds through hundreds of bank accounts tied to terrorism financing, money laundering, and weapons procurement.
Notably, many Nigerian suspects were arrested in 2021 but later released under questionable circumstances, despite alarming financial evidence tying them to Boko Haram collaborators already convicted abroad.
The report said Nigerian arm of the network reads like a directory of businessmen, Bureau-De-Change (BDC) operators, and traders across Kano, Zaria, Gusau, Sokoto, Minna, Abuja and Maiduguri – many of whom maintain dozens, even hundreds, of bank accounts.
At the centre is Sa’idu Ahmed, a Zaria-based businessman whose accounts logged ₦4.8 billion in inflows and who maintains direct links to Boko Haram convicts cited in UAE court documents.
His close associates include: Usaini Adamu, a Kano businessman whose staggering 111 bank accounts reflect inflows above ₦43 billion and outflows over ₦50 billion, often guaranteeing accounts tied to convicted financiers.
Muhammad Sani Adam, a forex dealer operating in Kano and Yola, who moved ₦54 billion+ in and out of his 41 linked accounts – transactions frequently involving known Boko Haram affiliates.
Abubakar Adamu, “Yellow”, with 42 accounts, and over ₦113 billion in combined inflows and outflows, repeatedly transferring funds to convicts between 2014 and 2019.
Others like Murtala Abdullahi Jega, Sadiq Garba Abubakar, Mustapha Yakubu, Yusuf Ghazali, Nurudeen Gani Aliyu, and Adamu Aliyu Kanoma each handled billions, moved funds to weapon procurement fronts, or channelled cash through entities such as Leaf Tobacco & Commodities, repeatedly cited in terrorism-related investigations.
Some suspects, including Ladan Ibrahim, a Sokoto government official, were linked to movements of public funds into the network’s accounts.
Some foreign actors with deep financial footprints were also identified. The international arm includes: The Late Rwandan billionaire Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa, whose 70 Nigerian bank accounts recorded ₦67 billion inflows and large transfers tied to terror-linked associates.
His son, Paul Nkwaya, co-owner of Leaf Tobacco & Commodities, who shares access to the same financial infrastructure and was similarly implicated, and Nigerien arms dealer, Aboubacar “Petit” Hima, based in Abuja, whose accounts received over $1.19 million from the UAE linked to Boko Haram facilitators.
Financial trails reveal constant movement of funds between suspects and convicted Boko Haram financiers, Cross-border transfers routed through South Africa, UAE and Niger Republic; Repeated naming of several suspects in UAE terrorism financing judgments, and Billions withdrawn in cash to obscure the money trail.
Security analysts say the scale and sophistication of the network suggest a long-running, coordinated financing pipeline sustaining Boko Haram logistics, recruitment, and arms procurement.
