Religious group in Nigeria laundering money for terrorists: EFCC
A religious group in Nigeria is helping terrorists to launder money, says the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The anti-graft agency boss, Ola Olukoyede, did not name the religious body while narrating on Wednesday how some terror financiers got a court restraining order that prevented the EFCC from investigating the group’s alleged funding of terrorism in Nigeria.
Mr Olukoyede said the EFCC had informed the religious group of its unlawful operations after learning about how money was laundered for terrorists.
“A religious sect in this country had been found to be laundering money for terrorists. We were able to trace some laundered money to a religious organisation,” said the EFCC at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja at an anti-corruption event.
He added, “And when we approached the religious organisation about it and we were carrying out our investigation, we got a restraining order stopping us from carrying out our investigation.”
In September 2021, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia reportedly listed six Nigerians on their terror list. This list included financiers of terrorism.
The Gulf country had also convicted six other Nigerians indicted for funding Boko-Haram, a dreaded group raining terror in Nigeria, in 2021.
West African Sub-regional body, ECOWAS’ Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) in 2019 reported that the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) moved about N18 billion generated from trading and taxing communities in the Lake Chad region through the Nigerian financial system annually.
During his reign, then-EFCC boss Abdulrasheed Bawa declined to comment on the names of individuals charged with financing terrorism.
He claimed that he is not in the greatest position to identify Nigerians who may be funding terrorists.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Lagos
Troops intercept truckload of illicit drugs on Lagos-Calabar coastal highway
He said preliminary investigations revealed that the illicit consignment was being transported to the Berger area of Lagos State.
![Governor Ahmed Ododo of Kogi [Photo Credit: Twitter]](https://gazettengr.com/wp-content/uploads/G_al6PKXIAAfMKN.jpg)
States
Kogi bans roadside revenue collection, haulage fees
“Offenders will be treated as criminals and economic saboteurs and, upon arrest, will be prosecuted in accordance with the law,” he stated.
States
Three-month-old, eight other family members killed in fresh Plateau attack
He said the attack began at about 11:00 p.m. on Saturday and lasted for more than an hour into the early hours of Sunday.
States
Rescue of Oyo abduction victims validates Tinubu’s security strategy: TMSG
According to the group, rescuing the victims after nearly two months in captivity affirms improved inter-agency synergy.
States
APC wins 18 chairmanship, 192 councillorship seats in Edo LG poll
The All Progressives Congress (APC) won all the seats across the state’s 18 local government areas and 192 wards.
Lagos
Lagos residents blame urbanisation, poor drainage infrastructure for worsening floods
Residents said the flooding challenge reflected years of urban growth that had outpaced drainage infrastructure.
