NFIU Says Terror Financiers Use Dead Persons’ Accounts And Crowdfunding

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit says terrorist financiers are using crowdfunding, accounts opened in women’s names and accounts linked to dead persons to move money while hiding the people behind the transactions.

The findings are contained in the agency’s 2025 annual report, which reviewed new patterns in terrorist financing, fraud and other financial crimes.

The NFIU said some foreign-based facilitators raise donations on social media by presenting them as humanitarian or education support. The links are then shared through encrypted platforms, with small donations structured to avoid automatic anti-money-laundering alerts.

Premium Times reported that the agency also found accounts opened in women’s names but controlled by male commanders and logistics managers. The funds were allegedly gathered into a central account before being broken into smaller transfers through international money-transfer operators and remittance apps.

The unit said some women whose accounts were used may not have known the scale of the transactions. It also identified phone numbers registered to third parties as another method used to conceal the identity of terrorist financiers.

Sources: Channels Television, Premium Times