Nigeria’s NSA and the AU Warn Terrorists Are Using Crypto to Fund Operations

What To Know:

• Nigeria’s NSA and the AU Counter-Terrorism Centre have warned that terrorist groups are using cryptocurrency and AI to conceal funds, coordinate operations, and recruit fighters.
• The warnings came at a three-day regional training conference in Abuja, Nigeria. 
• The warning highlights the evolving digital tactics insurgent groups use across West Africa.
• In June 2026, the US sanctioned three Nigerian currency bureaus for their role in routing cryptocurrency to ISWAP, ISIS West Africa’s Affiliate. 
• In July, the UN warned that terrorists in Northern Nigeria had added cryptocurrency to their toolset.

Nigeria’s security leadership has added cryptocurrency to the list of tools terrorist groups now exploit. The message was delivered at a three-day regional training conference in Abuja. Industry stakeholders noted that the programme trains participants in blockchain analysis, digital forensics and open-source intelligence to trace crypto transactions.

What Was Said 

Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was represented by the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Maj Gen Adamu Laka.

In his address, he disclosed that terrorist groups are actively utilising artificial intelligence, social media platforms, and digital assets to evade traditional intelligence tracking, finance, and coordinate attacks.

“Emerging technologies add further complexity,” he said. “Artificial Intelligence can rapidly produce personalised content; drones and autonomous systems can expand operational capabilities; and virtual assets can create new financing channels. We must, therefore, strengthen our ability to anticipate, detect, analyse and disrupt threats before they materialise.”

Mr Idriss Mounir Lallali, Acting Director of the African Union Counter-Terrorism Centre (AUCTC), was also present and echoed similar sentiments. He named the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Boko Haram and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) as groups who were “extending their reach through technology.”

He explained that these groups “recruit on social media platforms, move and conceal funds via mobile money, gift cards and cryptocurrencies.”

He added that the relatively swift speed and cheap cost of digital technologies,  the things which have made them so useful, now made terror a little more difficult to counter. “What makes this difficult is speed and cost. A cell with a modest budget can now reach audiences far beyond its physical presence and move faster than our procedures can respond. The capability to counter it remains thinly and unevenly distributed across our Member States.” 

Both the NSA and AUCTC called for stronger regional coordination, training and timely intelligence sharing. 

The Security Landscape and Digital Evolution

Terrorism has affected nearly 3.9 million people in Nigeria. Across Africa, that figure rises to over 45 million, nearly 3% of the continent’s population. As Nigeria and the continent grapple with localised security challenges across regions, criminal and extremist networks continue to adapt and exploit digital tools such as cryptocurrency. 

This warning marks the third significant warning in the second quarter of 2026 concerning the use of cryptocurrency by terrorist groups. In June, the US Treasury sanctioned a finance network, including a Nigerian facilitator accused of moving funds to ISIS and ISWAP. The network was made up of bureaus de change, hawala systems, crypto exchanges and wallets. 

In July, CryptoAfrica reported that the UN warned that terrorist groups across Northern Nigeria have begun using cryptocurrency as part of an evolving terrorism financing scheme. Reports indicate that crypto is now being utilised for dark web donation drives. 

How Regulatory Formalisation Helps

Global regulators have repeatedly stressed that African jurisdictions remain vulnerable to cross-border illicit flows because compliance enforcement is uneven. ​To counter these advanced threats, Nigerian financial regulators and security agencies are increasingly collaborating to formalise the digital asset sector. 

The SEC’s ARIP sandbox now includes 14 firms, and its framework requires participants to register with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and comply with anti-money laundering rules. At the SEC’s 7 October clinic, an NFIU official urged operators to run customer due diligence, monitor cross-border transactions and report suspicious activity. The president also signed an executive order calling for a coordinated approach to virtual assets across the CBN, SEC, NFIU, and EFCC.

Formalising the industry ensures that illicit transactions routed through digital channels can be flagged, intercepted, and investigated by law enforcement equipped with modern digital forensics training.

Why This Matters

While the warnings do not indicate that crypto is the main funding source for terrorists, the weaponisation of digital assets by bad actors poses a direct threat to mainstream adoption.

When decentralised technologies are linked to illicit financing, it invites heavy-handed regulatory crackdowns, freezes on fiat gateways, and reputational damage to legitimate digital asset infrastructure.

Ultimately, bringing digital assets into a regulated fold is one of the most effective ways to starve terrorist networks of their digital lifelines.