The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit has uncovered an emerging crowdfunding network being exploited to raise and channel funds for terrorist operations.

This is as the agency said terrorist financiers were opening bank accounts in women’s names as well as using phone numbers for mobile banking or account alerts that are not registered to the account holder or the true beneficiary.

The disclosures are contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report.

According to the report, the crowdfunding scheme involves foreign-based facilitators using social media platforms to solicit donations under the guise of humanitarian relief or educational support, before moving the funds through multiple layers to terrorist operatives in Nigeria.

The NFIU said hundreds of sympathisers were typically encouraged to make relatively small donations, ranging from $50 to $500, through PayPal pages or conventional bank accounts, with the amounts deliberately kept low enough to evade automated anti-money laundering alerts.

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