Terrorists Now Use Social Media, Remittance Platforms to Raise Funds — Bukarti

By Blessing Fali

Security analyst and lawyer, Dr Bulama Bukarti, has raised the alarm over the growing use of social media platforms and international remittance services by terrorist groups to raise and move funds into Nigeria.

Bukarti, who spoke on Channels Television, said terrorism financing was becoming increasingly sophisticated, with foreign-based facilitators allegedly disguising fundraising appeals as humanitarian, educational or medical assistance.

He said the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, had identified crowdfunding networks where donations were solicited through platforms such as Telegram and Signal. According to him, contributions from unsuspecting individuals could be pooled into a master account before being divided into smaller transfers and sent to recipients in Nigeria through international money transfer operators and remittance applications.

Bukarti warned that some Nigerians could unknowingly support terrorist financing by donating to fraudulent appeals or allowing their bank accounts, identities or telephone numbers to be used by criminal networks.

He urged Nigerians to carry out proper checks before making online donations, stressing that the warning was not aimed at discouraging genuine humanitarian assistance.

The security analyst also called for stronger links between Bank Verification Numbers, BVN, and SIM cards to prevent the abuse of financial accounts and identities.

The NFIU’s 2025 annual report similarly identified the use of deceased persons’ accounts, women’s accounts, third-party SIM cards, crowdfunding and remittance services as methods allegedly employed to conceal and move funds linked to terrorism.

Bukarti further advised Nigerians to be cautious about carrying packages or luggage for people they do not know, warning that unsuspecting individuals could be used as couriers by criminal networks.

He stressed the need for greater public awareness and stronger financial monitoring to prevent legitimate digital and financial platforms from being exploited to fund terrorism.