The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit has uncovered new methods allegedly being used by terrorist financiers to raise, conceal and transfer money to operatives in Nigeria.
The agency said the emerging schemes include online crowdfunding, the use of bank accounts registered in women’s names, mobile banking linked to telephone numbers belonging to other people and the use of SIM cards registered to deceased persons.
The findings were contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report, which detailed how terrorist networks are increasingly combining financial systems, digital platforms and cross-border transfers to move money without easily attracting the attention of financial regulators.
According to the report, one of the emerging methods involves foreign-based facilitators using social media to solicit donations under the appearance of humanitarian assistance or educational support.
The facilitators reportedly direct potential donors to online payment pages or conventional bank accounts, while encrypted messaging platforms are used to communicate with supporters and coordinate the movement of funds.
The NFIU said the scheme relies on a large number of donors making relatively small payments. The donations are later combined in an account controlled by a senior member of the network before being moved to Nigeria.
The agency said the funds are then divided into smaller transfers and sent through international money transfer operators and remittance applications to different individuals who act as intermediaries.
Students, small business operators and relatives were among the categories of people identified as being used as money mules.
Once the funds reach Nigeria, they may be converted to cash or used to acquire items that can serve both legitimate and operational purposes, before being moved to individuals responsible for logistics and field activities.
The NFIU said another method involves the use of accounts belonging to women as fronts for terrorist financing.
Under this arrangement, accounts may be registered in the names of wives, sisters or other female associates, while male commanders or logistics officials allegedly control the accounts and have access to their banking credentials.
The agency said some of the women whose names are used may not be aware of the nature or volume of the transactions passing through their accounts.
The technique makes it harder for investigators to immediately identify the people actually controlling the funds and can create distance between terrorist operatives and the financial transactions linked to their activities.
The NFIU also identified the use of telephone numbers that are not connected to the actual owners or beneficiaries of bank accounts as another growing problem.
According to the report, facilitators may use pre-registered SIM cards, numbers previously registered in the names of people who have died, or telephone lines connected to proxy account holders.
Such practices can make investigations more difficult because a telephone number linked to a suspicious transaction may lead investigators to an unrelated person rather than the individual controlling the funds.
The agency said this also weakens the connection between bank accounts, telephone numbers and Bank Verification Numbers, making it harder to establish the true identity of people behind suspicious transactions.
Terrorist groups were also found to be using detailed transaction descriptions as part of their internal financial management.
The NFIU said some cells, including those associated with the Islamic State West Africa Province, use organised descriptions for transactions involving logistics and other expenses.
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The agency said repeated payments from one source to several recipients, accompanied by detailed descriptions, could reveal an organised financial structure within a terrorist network.
At the same time, some facilitators reportedly use ordinary words, codes and combinations of letters and numbers to hide the real purpose of transactions.
The NFIU said some individuals also switch between languages when describing payments in an attempt to avoid automated systems used by financial institutions to identify suspicious terms.
Beyond terrorism financing, the agency said its analysis showed that financial crimes were becoming increasingly connected to technology and cross-border activities.
Fraud remained one of the major offences identified by the NFIU, with cases involving Ponzi schemes, fake crowdfunding campaigns, cryptocurrency investment scams and hacking-related fraud.
The agency said criminals were also taking advantage of weaknesses in the process of opening fintech accounts, including accounts that require limited identification.
Digital platforms have made it easier for fraudsters to reach large numbers of people quickly and move money across different channels.
The report also drew attention to weaknesses in the management of public funds at state and local government levels.
According to the NFIU, government money can be diverted through accounts belonging to finance officers and third parties connected to them.
Procurement activities were also identified as an area exposed to financial crime risks, while extensive use of cash can make it harder for investigators to establish the movement of funds and trace assets.
The agency said information gathered from its financial and crime analysis was used to produce alerts, advisories and intelligence reports for relevant government institutions, financial organisations and policymakers.
A security expert, Chidi Omeje, called for stronger cooperation between security agencies and financial institutions to deal with the changing methods used by criminal networks.
Omeje said criminal groups were continuously developing new ways of avoiding existing security and financial monitoring systems.
He called on the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services and agencies responsible for monitoring financial transactions to improve their ability to identify suspicious movements of money.
He said following the financial trail could help security agencies identify the people behind criminal operations and disrupt their activities.
Another security analyst, Lawrence Alobi, urged security agencies to improve intelligence sharing and strengthen their cooperation with banks.
Alobi said better information gathering would help authorities identify fraudulent accounts and other financial arrangements used by criminals.
He also called for stronger identity checks by financial institutions and warned that banks that knowingly allow their systems to be used for illegal activities should face appropriate sanctions.
He said banks must ensure that every account can be linked to a genuine and verifiable individual rather than allowing people to operate accounts through proxies.
The latest NFIU findings show that terrorist financing is becoming more difficult to detect as criminal networks combine traditional banking channels with digital payments, social media, mobile banking and cross-border financial services. The agency’s findings point to the need for stronger monitoring of financial transactions, tighter customer verification and closer cooperation between banks, intelligence agencies and other institutions responsible for tracking illicit funds.
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