Experts Raise Concerns As US Designates Nigerian, Others ISIS Financiers

Security and foreign‑policy experts in Nigeria have voiced alarm after the United States designated a Nigerian national and several other people and entities as alleged financiers of the Islamic State (ISIS).

The designations, announced in a statement cited Tuesday by State Department spokesman Thomas Pigott, identify three individuals and six entities said to have enabled ISIS to move money across borders.

The network is said to operate across France, Syria, Türkiye and Nigeria and to facilitate funding for attacks and regional affiliates.

“Under the leadership of President Trump, the United States is dismantling ISIS’s ability to finance terrorism around the world. We are cutting off the financial lifelines from around the world that enable ISIS to fund attacks, support its regional affiliates, and threaten civilians, including religious minorities,” the statement said.

It named a France‑based facilitator accused of providing explosive‑use information to ISIS supporters, a Syria‑based operator who used cryptocurrency to transfer funds for ISIS associates in multiple countries, and a Nigeria‑based facilitator whose money‑exchange businesses allegedly served as conduits for ISIS financing.

Public intellectual Dr. Katch Ononuju warned that ISIS has a local franchise in Nigeria and uses domestic agents to move funds. He said the group has infiltrated parts of the country’s security and financial architecture, comparing the situation to Afghanistan where terrorists penetrated government structures.

Ononuju said U.S. intelligence and forces operating in Nigeria are helping expose sponsors of terrorism and will frustrate their plans. “The Americans are already here and the terrorists and their financiers will not succeed in this evil venture because the people are now aware of their evil plots,” he added.

Retired diplomat Prof. Uche Mbanaso, said the designations damage Nigeria’s fragile reputation and underlined the need to identify motives and deal decisively with sponsors, whom he called the “live wire of terrorism.”

He argued the core problem is lack of political will and an unchallenged ideology that fuels recruitment and support for extremist groups.

International constitutional law expert Livingstone Wechie criticised what he called weak leadership and compromise in Nigeria’s counterterrorism response.

Citing the Global Terrorism Index 2026, he said Nigeria ranks fourth globally for terrorism impact, with extremist fatalities rising 46 per cent to 750 deaths. He blamed “lip service,” compromises, and the policy of accepting “repentant terrorists” for opening the door to infiltrations and intelligence failures.

Wechie urged stronger accountability, better welfare and equipment for soldiers, and tighter protections for military bases, which he said suffer easy attacks and significant losses.

An anonymous expert praised U.S. intervention but faulted Nigeria’s “porous financial system,” which, he said, is being exploited by terrorism financiers to undermine national integrity.

The U.S. has also branded Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern over attacks on Christians attributed largely to jihadist groups.

On December 25, 2025, President Donald Trump announced U.S. strikes on a terrorist base in Sokoto in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

On May 16, 2026, U.S. and Nigerian forces carried out an operation that killed Abu‑Bilal al‑Minuki, described as an ISIS deputy, in the Lake Chad Basin.

Experts say targeting financing and intensifying joint operations could weaken terrorist groups, but they warn that persistent kidnappings and attacks underscore the scale of the challenge facing Nigeria.