The United States Government has just handed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration what may be one of the most significant counter-terrorism intelligence gifts of the year.
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, a Nigerian identified as Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad and three Nigerian Bureau De Change companies were sanctioned for allegedly facilitating financial transactions on behalf of ISIS-West Africa. The sanctions form part of a wider international effort to disrupt terrorist financing networks operating across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. (PRNigeria News)
The question now is simple:
What is the Nigerian Government going to do about it?
Will this revelation merely become another international press story that Nigerians discuss for a few days before moving on? Or will the Tinubu administration treat it as a national security emergency and take immediate action?
The United States has already done its part.
The Americans have identified individuals and entities they believe are connected to ISIS financing. They have imposed sanctions. They have blocked access to U.S. assets and financial systems. They have alerted the global financial community to the alleged activities of these individuals and companies. (PRNigeria News)
Now the spotlight shifts to Abuja.
If the allegations are credible enough for the United States Treasury Department to publicly sanction these individuals and entities, surely they are credible enough for Nigerian security agencies to investigate aggressively.
The Nigerian people deserve answers.
Has the Federal Government opened criminal investigations?
Have the DSS, EFCC, NFIU, Police, and military intelligence agencies launched coordinated operations?
Have the identified businesses been searched?
Have their bank accounts been frozen pending investigation?
Have the directors and beneficial owners been questioned?
Have their financial records been examined?
Have their communications and transaction histories been reviewed?
Most importantly, if evidence exists, will arrests follow?
Because terrorism does not survive on ideology alone.
Terrorism survives on money.
Every bomb, every kidnapping, every ambush, every attack on soldiers, every village burned, every church or mosque attacked, every innocent Nigerian murdered requires financing.
The terrorists pulling the trigger are dangerous.
But the people allegedly financing them are often even more dangerous.
Without money, terror networks struggle to recruit, travel, buy weapons, move operatives, pay informants, and sustain operations.
That is why every serious country treats terrorist financing as a national security threat equal to terrorism itself.
Imagine if foreign intelligence agencies identified individuals allegedly helping finance attacks against Americans. The FBI would not simply issue a press release and move on. Investigations, arrests, prosecutions, asset seizures, and long prison sentences would likely follow if sufficient evidence existed.
Nigerians should expect no less from their own government.
This is also an opportunity for President Tinubu.
For years, Nigerians have complained that terrorism sponsors operate in the shadows while ordinary citizens bear the consequences. Here is a chance to demonstrate that nobody is above the law.
If the allegations are false, a transparent investigation can establish that.
If the allegations are true, then the full weight of Nigerian law should come down on those responsible.
The worst possible response would be silence.
The worst possible response would be pretending nothing happened.
The worst possible response would be allowing foreign governments to identify alleged terror financiers while Nigerian authorities do nothing visible to reassure citizens that the matter is being taken seriously.
The Tinubu administration has repeatedly stated that security is a priority.
This is a moment to prove it.
Nigerians are not merely interested in seeing alleged terror financiers lose access to American banks.
They want to know whether those accused of helping finance terror against Nigerians will face Nigerian justice.
The ball is now squarely in the Federal Government’s court.
The United States has raised the alarm.
Nigeria must now decide whether it will investigate, prosecute, and if necessary convict those responsible under Nigerian law—or whether this, too, will become another file gathering dust while terrorists continue to find ways to finance their operations.
The Nigerian people deserve an answer.
Ope Banwo
Mayor Of Fadeyi
Founder, Naija Lives Matter