Irabor’s statement highlights political connivance in national insecurity
Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, has made a serious allegation, suggesting that some politicians in Nigeria are actively financing terrorism within the country.
This statement, delivered after a career focused on combating insecurity, underscores the pervasive and politically-motivated nature of the threats facing the nation. Such claims from a former head of the military high command point towards deep-seated internal challenges in the fight against insurgency.
General Irabor’s comments confirm long-held suspicions that terrorism and banditry are not solely driven by foreign entities or criminal gangs seeking only financial gain. Rather, there is a significant local component tied to political manipulation and the pursuit of power. The suggestion of political connivance indicates that the country’s security forces are often fighting a complex enemy with both external and powerful internal support.
Context of ongoing counter-terrorism operations
The former CDS’s assertion comes against the backdrop of sustained and costly counter-terrorism/counter-insurgency (CTCOIN) operations across Nigeria, particularly in the North East. The Nigerian military has continually adapted its strategies, adopting a comprehensive approach to degrade the terrorist threat. While these operations have yielded some success, Irabor’s statement suggests that political interference and sponsorship pose a constant challenge to achieving total victory.
In the past, the military has often had to contend with the difficulty of distinguishing between terrorism, banditry, and politically-motivated violence. The allegation of political funding illuminates a potential reason for the longevity and resilience of terror groups like Boko Haram and its various splinter factions. These groups often require significant and reliable financial and logistical backing to sustain their operations, weapons acquisition, and recruitment drives.
Broader concerns about terrorist financing in west africa
Concerns over the financing of terrorism are not new, and global bodies have previously flagged the vulnerabilities of the West African sub-region. For example, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body, works to develop policies to protect the global financial system against terrorist financing. Reports from the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) have stressed the need to strengthen member states’ capacity to prevent and control money laundering and terrorist financing.
There have been documented cases of Nigerian individuals and networks being sanctioned by foreign governments for funneling money to terror groups. In one instance, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated a network of six individuals for operating a Boko Haram cell in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to raise funds. These international actions, combined with the former CDS’s local insight, highlight the transnational nature of the funding but also the serious domestic political exploitation of the crisis.
Need for strategic and proactive security approach
The revelation by the former CDS underscores the necessity for security agencies to adopt a more strategic and proactive approach to tackling the complex security challenges. This approach must include robust financial intelligence operations aimed at tracing the flow of illicit funds from politicians or public officials to terror networks. The focus must shift from solely kinetic military operations to a multi-agency effort that includes financial, political, and intelligence elements.
The government is therefore faced with the immense task of identifying and prosecuting these highly-placed individuals without succumbing to political pressure. Only by decisively blocking the internal sources of funding and political support can the security forces truly dismantle the terrorist structures and ensure lasting peace. The former CDS’s warning serves as a direct call for political will to pursue accountability to its highest levels.
