Terrorists exploiting social media, remittance platforms to raise funds – Bukarti

Security analyst and lawyer, Dr Bulama Bukarti, has warned Nigerians to be more careful when making online donations, saying terrorist groups are exploiting social media and international money transfer platforms to raise funds.

Bukarti gave the warning during an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, where he explained that some people unknowingly contribute to terrorism through fake humanitarian and educational appeals shared online.

According to him, findings by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) show that individuals based outside Nigeria use platforms such as Telegram and Instagram to solicit donations from unsuspecting people.

“They collect donations ranging from $50 to $500 into a master account before breaking the money into smaller amounts and sending it to different recipients in Nigeria through international remittance services,” Bukarti said.

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“These people are doing all of this in order to evade Nigeria’s tightening financial regulations,” Bukarti said.

He stressed that his warning should not discourage people from supporting genuine humanitarian or educational causes.

He clarified that he was not asking Nigerians to stop supporting humanitarian or educational causes but urged them to carry out proper checks, establish who they are donating to and ensure that the recipient is trustworthy before giving money.

“We need stronger measures to prevent terrorism financing, including a better link between BVNs and SIM cards. Some accounts belonging to deceased persons or operated by third parties have allegedly been used to move funds connected to terrorist activities,” Bukarti said.

Bukarti argued that tracking the movement of money is key to tackling terrorism.

He also advised Nigerians to be cautious when asked to carry items for other people.

He urged security agencies to carry out prompt investigations and prosecutions, insisting that failures in law enforcement do not justify mob action.