Terrorists’ Funding Networks have Been Disrupted by Military, NFIU – Says Defence Minister, Musa

September 07, () — Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.) on Sunday gave an insight into the many fronts that the Nigerian military, in collaboration with intelligence and security agencies, has decided to significantly disable terrorism and insurgency in the country.

Speaking in a live interview in Abuja on political stability, border security, Nigeria’s territorial defence, welfare of military personnel and counter-terrorism financing, the Minister said the collaboration amongst the security agencies has successfully disrupted the financial networks sustaining major groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

According to him, the ongoing cooperation has led to the reduction of the capacity of the terrorist groups to launch the large-scale attacks they relied on to generate funding for their operations through ransom payments, leaving them to resort to abductions, kidnappings and other criminal activities as alternative sources of obtaining money.

He identified the areas of cooperation between the military and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to include blocking proxy bank accounts, social media crowdfunding platforms and cryptocurrency transactions.

He said the Federal Government is also collaborating with the United States Department of State in the area of international counter-terrorism financing, especially as it involves influential terrorism networks being run by ISIS.

Cutting off fuel, food and water supplies of the terrorists is also part of the measures being adopted by the military and security agencies to cripple the cells and networks of the terrorists, Musa added.

“Now, we don’t have those brazen attacks that used to be. Before now, Boko Haram would go to places, attack areas and go. You don’t hear of that anymore. The trajectory has moved from insurgency back downwards toward terrorism, abductions and kidnapping because that is the easiest way for desperate networks to try and raise money.

“The armed forces are stable, inter-agency service rivalries have completely gone, and we are working assiduously as a unified unit to guarantee total tactical superiority,” the minister said.

recalls that about a forth night ago in Niger State over 600 citizens were abducted by terrorists in one of the most brazen incidents of mass kidnapping in the country in recent times. President Bola Tinubu immediately responded to the attack by directing the military and security agencies to hunt down the abductors and the Defence Headquarters said a massive rescue operation was underway.

Responding to such large scale operations, Musa said the recent rise in security incidents in some parts of the country follows a pattern that usually occurs during major political cycles, especially now that campaigns for the 2027 general election have officially kicked-off with the publication of the names of candidates by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Campaigns for the Presidential and National Assembly polls, scheduled for January 16, 2027, started on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, while electioneering for the Governorship and Assembly election, holding on February 6, 2027, begins on September 9, 2026.

According to Musa, stakeholders have expressed concerns that recurring large -scale abductions could be exploited by politicians to paint the government in bad light ahead of the upcoming poll. He assured Nigerians that security agencies were taking measures to contain the situation and ensure that political campaigns and other activities were conducted without hindrance.

The Minister who also addressed the recurring issue of porous borders, particularly the approximately 1,500-kilometre Nigeria-Niger border, stated that the Federal Government was strengthening surveillance along Nigeria’s borders, particularly areas known to facilitate the movement of terrorists, weapons and other criminal elements, adding that the Ministry of the Interior and the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, had “activated specialised border-control hubs equipped with real-time cameras, with continuous drone surveillance also being deployed.”

He argued that with the recent expansion of the military’s operational structure from eight to 12 active divisions, the increased recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, as well as the creation of a new Homeland Adviser position to improve domestic intelligence coordination, Nigeria was on the way to defeating terrorism and insurgency.

He said the military would sustain the pressure on terrorist groups until their operational and recruitment capabilities were substantially dismantled. Speaking on the welfare of serving personnel and veterans, Musa, who described himself as a military pensioner, said President Tinubu recently approved upward reviews of salaries and pensions for serving military personnel and retired members of the Armed Forces, adding that the next harmonised pension payments were scheduled for the end of September 2026.