Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff (CDS), says the process of identifying and prosecuting terrorism financiers in Nigeria is ongoing.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme
on Thursday, Musa said the process is complex because it involves legal hurdles
and international networks.
The defence chief said terrorist financiers often rely on
local collaborators who remit money into certain accounts.
“I think the process is on; I can speak for this government
and because it has to do with a lot of legal issues and because again, it has
to do with international connections,” he said.
“Some of them have funds coming from outside; we cannot do
anything from within.
“The local ones normally employ a few individuals and
provide motorcycles for them, and those ones remit funds daily into some
accounts, so it’s being tracked.”
The CDS also commended the Nigerian Financial Intelligence
Unit (NFIU) for its role in tracking financial links to terrorism.
“The NFIU has been doing so much; apart from the
intelligence set-up, the financial links are also being followed through and through,
and arrests have been made,” he said.
“I can assure you the attorney-general of the federation and
the NSA (Nuhu Ribadu) are all working seriously to ensure that we address those
issues.”
He added that the Department of State Services (DSS), the National
Intelligence Agency (NIA), and other security agencies are also tracing
political actors who fund insecurity.
“You know criminals work together; they synergise their
efforts, both the bandits and terrorists, because they have a common goal: they
want to make money and ensure communities are suffering for whatever reason,”
Musa said.
“And again, some part of politics—when there is peace, it
shows the government is doing well, and when there is no peace, it shows the
government is not doing well.
“You realise that last year we had the least number of
deaths; then, how come suddenly everything has gone up? Because politics has
come in; elections are coming in.
“You cannot rule out the fact that some individuals are
making sure there is no peace. The funny thing is, how do you want to kill the
people you want to govern? What do you gain from it?”
Asked if political actors behind terrorism have been
identified, Musa said “work is still in progress”.
He also called for reforms in the justice system to
accelerate terrorism cases.
“I can tell you that the DSS, the NIA, the NFIU, and the DIA
are all working assiduously,” he said.
“And again, it has to do with the legal system. We have to
review our legal system because some of the punishments and prosecutions take
too long.
“Maybe if we have a special court that will treat terrorism
cases as quickly as they arise. I think we also need to review the punishment
for offences.”
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