In a bold escalation against terrorism, the Nigerian Federal Government has promised to pursue aggressive legal action against banks, financial institutions, and accounting firms implicated in financing terrorist operations. Officials warn that executives of offending organizations will face personal prosecution, while the entities themselves could be slapped with hefty fines or forced to shutter operations entirely.
The stern warning came from Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication to President Bola Tinubu, during a recent interview on TVC.
Bwala underscored that disrupting financial pipelines is crucial to dismantling terror networks, drawing parallels to global efforts in the United States to curb money laundering and illicit funding.
"Finance is the lifeline of terrorist activities," Bwala stated, highlighting how bandits and terrorists exploit financial systems to collect ransoms and clean dirty money.
"If a bandit demands ransom and they say that the money should be wired to them, it’s through where? Financial institutions. And we have laws that regulate that."
He detailed the government's multi-pronged approach, which includes scrutinizing banks, non-banking financial entities, and accounting firms for complicity.
"We will look at banks that are collaborating with elements like that... And then we look at our collaboration with our foreign partners," Bwala said. Any guilty party will see its leadership hauled into court, with institutions risking closure or severe penalties.
Bwala also addressed the shadowy role of intermediaries, cautioning that self-proclaimed negotiators could unwittingly or deliberatelybecome accessories to terrorism. "This is where the problem is. A thin line between war against banditry and terrorism, and individuals who provided themselves as negotiators and become accessories to it at the end of the day," he remarked.
The government, he added, is "opening itself up to all possibilities" in its fight.Bolstered by intelligence-sharing with allies like the United States, Nigerian authorities are gearing up to unmask financiers through investigations, confessions, or revelations.
"In the coming days, we will know who terrorists are and who their financiers are... Nobody will be spared," Bwala affirmed, vowing impartial enforcement to avoid the societal decay caused by selective justice.On the technical front, Bwala revealed that the administration possesses advanced surveillance tools capable of tracing funds through even the most convoluted digital trails, including unregulated satellite or internet networks.
"We have the equipment. This government has the equipment to begin to trace them," he assured.Beyond institutional accountability, Bwala called on ordinary Nigerians to join the battlefront by rejecting the spread of misinformation that fuels unrest.
"What the people will do as Nigerian citizens... you will not be a part of people who promote, propagate or encourage terrorism. Meaning that if you come across any information that looks like fake news, you will not participate in sharing or re-sharing or escalating it," he urged.
The remarks also touched on deeper systemic issues exacerbating insecurity, such as state-level mismanagement of revenues.
Bwala pointed out that despite boosted allocations, some regions have seen deteriorating services in healthcare and infrastructure failures that breed discontent and indirectly empower criminals.
"What destroys a society is when there are certain individuals who cannot be touched," he warned.
As Nigeria intensifies its anti-terrorism campaign, these vows signal a no-holds-barred era, where financial enablers will find little refuge under the law.
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