The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, has uncovered a crowdfunding network allegedly being exploited by terrorist financiers to raise and channel funds to operatives in Nigeria.
The disclosure was contained in the agency’s 2025 Annual Report, which revealed that terrorist financiers were also opening bank accounts in women’s names and using phone numbers for mobile banking or account alerts that were not registered to the actual account holders or beneficiaries.
According to the NFIU, the emerging crowdfunding scheme involves foreign-based facilitators using social media to solicit donations under the guise of humanitarian relief and educational support.
The funds are subsequently moved through multiple layers before allegedly reaching terrorist operatives in Nigeria.
The agency said hundreds of sympathisers were typically encouraged to make relatively small donations, ranging from $50 to $500, through PayPal pages or conventional bank accounts.
The relatively small amounts, the NFIU noted, were deliberately structured to avoid triggering automated anti-money laundering alerts.
The facilitators reportedly use social media platforms and encrypted messaging applications, including Telegram and Signal, to distribute links to what appear to be legitimate fundraising pages.
The intelligence agency said the discovery highlights the growing sophistication of terrorist financing networks and the need for financial institutions and relevant authorities to strengthen monitoring of suspicious transactions, digital fundraising platforms and accounts operated on behalf of third parties.
