General News
Revealed! How Middle Eastern Backers Fund Boko Haram
Boko Haram’s recent attacks are notable for the expensive military hardware on display. Where is it getting funds to acquire these hardware?
The Independent reports on the sources of this money, from wealthy Middle Eastern backers to the black market
If there was an exact moment that the international community understood the breadth of Boko Haram’s evil, it came last month, when the group’s leader grinned and announced that he would sell more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls in his “market of selling human beings”.
Behind Abubakar Shekau, a man who rose to the top of Boko Haram through unmatched brutality and religious fanaticism, loomed several armoured vehicles.
Local experts said the video was likely to have been filmed in the remote Sambisa forest in north-eastern Nigeria. The juxtaposition between rural land and advanced machinery made a jarring contrast.
Despite the poverty of northern Nigeria – where 70 per cent of people live on less than 60p a day – the Boko Haram terrorist group has at its disposal a seemingly limitless amount of heavy weaponry, vehicles, bombs and ammunition that it uses to kill with unfathomable wantonness.
The Islamic militants, masquerading as members of the military, raided three villages in north-eastern Nigeria this week and killed 400 villagers “from house to house” using “sophisticated weapons”, one local leader told Bloomberg.
Dozens more Boko Haram members arrived at another village, Bargari, disguised as preachers and assembled all those living in the village, ostensibly to teach Islam. Once they had gathered, another “large number of terrorists” arrived and “opened fire on the congregation”, one resident told Nigeria’s Daily Post.
“The gunmen numbering 20 ambushed the village with four Toyota Hilux vehicles, AK-47 rifles, improvised explosive devices, and petrol bombs,” the paper said.
Saleh Mohammed, a member of Civilian JTF – one of a number of vigilante groups that have sprung up to fight the militants – told Reuters: “Boko Haram wreaked havoc in the villages. They burned houses and killed people mercilessly after tricking the residents.”
The expensive equipment on prominent display soon prompted questions about who was funding Boko Haram’s campaign of slaughter.
According to a survey of academic, governmental and journalistic accounts, Boko Haram funds its escalating acts of terror through black market dealings, local and international benefactors, and links to al-Qa’ida and other well-funded groups in the Middle East.
Analysts say its fundraising apparatus is intricate and opaque. “The actual source of the funding is as elusive as the militants themselves,” Heather Murdock wrote for Voice of America.
The story of Boko Haram’s fundraising began after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.
The group’s original leader, a charismatic cleric named Mohammed Yusuf, who was later killed, founded the group in 2002 pushing an alternative to Western education, which he claimed undermined Nigeria’s development. (The group’s Hausa name translates as “Western education is sin”.)
Around that time, Osama bin Laden sent an aide to Nigeria with about £1.8m in local currency to dispense among groups that shared al-Qa’ida’s mission to impose Islamic rule. One of the “major beneficiaries”, the International Crisis Group said, was Boko Haram.
EJ Hogendoorn, the International Crisis Group’s deputy programme director for Africa and an author of the report, told The Daily Beast: “What I can tell you from talking to lots of conservative Muslims in Nigeria is that there was a lot of money coming into northern Nigeria. There are many sources of that money. One of those sources was from al-Qa’ida.”
The connection between Boko Haram and al-Qa’ida – and its money – perhaps deepened when Yusuf fled to Saudi Arabia to escape one of Nigeria’s first crackdowns on the terrorist group. It remains unclear what happened while he was in Saudi Arabia, or who he met, but Boko Haram leaders have later said that much of their funding comes from al-Qa’ida.
A Boko Haram spokesman said in 2011: “Al-Qa’ida are our elder brothers. We enjoy financial and technical support from them. Anything we want from them we ask them.”
But even such alleged financial connections with al-Qa’ida cannot explain Boko Haram’s money. The group reportedly also gets cash from Islamic terrorist groups such as al-Shabaab in Somalia and local al-Qa’ida affiliates.
Then there’s the black market money. Beyond a hatred of Western education, economic motives may have also driven Boko Haram’s recent abduction of the schoolgirls. A robust and terrifying slave market exists in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
The Combating Terrorism Centre at West Point, the US military academy, said: “Kidnapping has become one of [Boko Haram’s] primary funding sources, a way to extract concessions from the Nigerian state and other governments, and a threat to foreigners and Nigerian government officials.”
Experts now estimate that kidnapping is worth “millions of dollars in ransom money” to the militants.
What experts agree on is that one of the best ways to stall Boko Haram is to cut off its funding. But how to do that remains unclear. The group is an entrenched part of life in northern Nigeria, possessing control and influence, and even collecting taxes.
Next week, Foreign Secretary William Hague will host a meeting of African and Western officials in London aimed at stepping up efforts to defeat the militants. Its effectiveness may hinge on the West’s ability to cut off the group’s funding
Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) has urged courier or logistics service providers to register with the service or face the wrath of the law.
Dr Chris Ashiedu, state postal manager, Enugu State, made the call while speaking on Tuesday at the ongoing 36th Enugu International Trade Fair.
The 10-day Fair, which kicked off on April 4, is themed: “Developing Nigeria Industrial Sector/SMEs for Economic Advancement and Global Recognition”.
Ashiedu said that any company or venture who failed to register as well as their workers would also be liable to legal sanction of fines, imprisonment or both.
He said that NIPOST had so far registered 29 courier/logistic service providing companies or ventures in Enugu State, while hunting for others operating under hiding.
According to him, we are succeeding in pushing to get them notwithstanding that they are dodging NIPOST officials but we are determined to get every courier/logistic service provider in Enugu State under our regulatory control and guidance.
Ashiedu said that the Agency was already developing a technological App to track those operating in the secret and get their locations.
He said: “NIPOST is a Federal Government agency constitutionally charged with the regulation and licensing of all courier and logistics services in Nigeria.
“We clamped down on all unregistered courier and logistics service companies or providers last month in Enugu, and we will keep on chasing them until they do what the law demands.
“We will also compel them to do their annual re-registration.
“It is made easier for them since NIPOST has categorised courier/logistics services into international, national, regional and state and bulk of the couriers/logistics fall into state category to pay very less for registration and annual re-registration.”
The manager explained that any movement of item, be it food or even fruit on a motorised equipment (vehicle or motorcycle) from one location to another in terms of delivering is doing courier service.
General News
Sofia Zab, PalmPay CMO Highlights Strategies for Driving Digital Payment Adoption in Africa
At the recent Tech Unite Africa 2025 conference in Lagos, PalmPay’s Chief Marketing Officer, Sofia Zab, shared valuable insights on accelerating the shift from cash to digital payments in Africa, as the company introduced its latest innovation: the PalmPay Debit Card.
During a panel discussion, Zab addressed the critical barriers hindering digital payment adoption encountered by PalmPay when the company launched in Nigeria: reliability and cost. She noted that in 2019, many Nigerian consumers and merchants avoided digital payments due to frequent transaction failures and high fees.
To overcome these challenges, PalmPay developed a robust infrastructure ensuring a 99.95% transaction success rate and pioneered a user-friendly model with zero rated bank transfers, fee-free bill payments and cashback rewards.
“Once users experience the benefits, they don’t want to return to cash,” Zab stated. “The key to shifting consumer behaviour is making digital payments more convenient, more rewarding, and less stressful than using cash.” As consumers adopted cashless payments, they began seeking out merchants that would accept payment with transfer, driving digitisation in retail payments organically.
Zab also highlighted PalmPay’s inclusive approach to building a cashless ecosystem, especially in areas with unreliable internet access. Beyond its smartphone app, Nigerians can transact through PalmPay’s nationwide network of mobile money agents, who are equipped with multiple devices and SIM cards from various providers and can transact on behalf of users if a particular network is experiencing an outage.
In 2024, PalmPay went a step further by introducing a USSD code (*861#) for users without data access, and with the new PalmPay Debit Card, its customers now have another access point and can withdraw cash from ATMs or point-of-sale terminals when digital transactions are not feasible. “For us, the key is about meeting people where they are, rather than waiting for the perfect infrastructure to arrive”, Zab emphasized.
In alignment with its mission to drive financial access, PalmPay unveiled the PalmPay Debit Card at the conference. Developed in partnership with Verve, Africa’s largest domestic card scheme, the card offers zero maintenance fees, easy in-app application with nationwide delivery, and integration into PalmPay’s full suite of financial services – including cashback, merchant rewards, and high-yield savings. This initiative marks a significant milestone in PalmPay’s evolution into a comprehensive digital banking platform.
With over 35 million users on its smartphone app and a MSME network of 1.1 million agents and merchants across Nigeria, PalmPay continues to build one of the continent’s most dynamic fintech ecosystems, dedicated to redefining digital banking to be more personalised, comprehensive, and accessible to everyone.
In line with the 2025 World Health Day theme, “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,” QNET has reiterated its dedication to enhancing maternal and neonatal health, particularly in emerging markets.
The global direct-selling company has spotlighted its wellness and nutritional products, which it says are designed to address key health challenges in underserved regions.
Statistics from the World Health Organization show that 287,000 women died due to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications in 2020, with 95 percent of these deaths occurring in developing countries.
UNICEF reports further underline the severity of neonatal mortality, with 2.3 million newborns dying within the first 28 days of life in 2022, accounting for nearly half of child deaths under five globally.
Many of these fatalities are linked to preventable causes such as infections, poor nutrition, and complications from unsafe drinking water.
Biram Fall, Regional General Manager for QNET Sub-Saharan Africa, underscored the significance of maternal and neonatal health as a foundation for societal well-being. “The foundation of a healthy society starts with the well-being of mothers and their newborns,” he said.
Among the company’s health-focused products are EDG3 Plus, a glutathione precursor blend aimed at enhancing cellular repair and immune function, and HomePure Nova, a seven-stage water filtration system that addresses the issue of unsafe drinking water—a major contributor to maternal and infant morbidity.
Local stakeholders have also lauded QNET’s efforts, highlighting the potential impact in Nigeria, where maternal mortality rates stand at 512 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to World Bank data.
As public-private partnerships gain traction in addressing health gaps in sub-Saharan Africa, QNET’s initiatives have been positioned as a complementary solution to overstretched health systems, aligning with the global goal of “Good Health and Well-Being” under the Sustainable Development Goals.
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