Boko Haram Not Sponsored By Anti-Jonathan Politicians: US Officials Expose Group

*Group gets most funds from lucrative kidnapping
*Very little evidence and tiny substantial value of any anti-Government politician financial support
*Group receives no substantial aid from al-Qaeda and AQIM
*Group’s weapons are obtained from the Nigerian armory
* How Boko Haram is beating U.S. efforts to choke its financing

By Phil Stewart and Lesley Wroughton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When Washington imposed sanctions in June 2012 on Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, he dismissed it as an empty gesture.

Two years later, Shekau’s skepticism appears well founded: his Islamic militant group is now the biggest security threat to Africa’s top oil producer, is richer than ever, more violent and its abductions of women and children continue with impunity.

As the United States, Nigeria and others struggle to track and choke off its funding, Reuters interviews with more than a dozen current and former U.S. officials who closely follow Boko Haram provide the most complete picture to date of how the group finances its activities.

Central to the militant group’s approach includes using hard-to-track human couriers to move cash, relying on local funding sources and engaging in only limited financial relationships with other extremists groups. It also has reaped millions from high-profile kidnappings.

“Our suspicions are that they are surviving on very lucrative criminal activities that involve kidnappings,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in an interview.

Until now, U.S. officials have declined to discuss Boko Haram’s financing in such detail.

The United States has stepped up cooperation with Nigeria to gather intelligence on Boko Haram, whose militants are killing civilians almost daily in its northeastern Nigerian stronghold. But the lack of international financial ties to the group limit the measures the United States can use to undermine it, such as financial sanctions.

The U.S. Treasury normally relies on a range of measures to track financial transactions of terrorist groups, but Boko Haram appears to operate largely outside the banking system.

To fund its murderous network, Boko Haram uses primarily a system of couriers to move cash around inside Nigeria and across the porous borders from neighboring African states, according to the officials interviewed by Reuters.

In designating Boko Haram as a terrorist organization last year, the Obama administration characterized the group as a violent extremist organization with links to al Qaeda.

The Treasury Department said in a statement to Reuters that the United States has seen evidence that Boko Haram has received financial support from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM), an offshoot of the jihadist group founded by Osama bin Laden.

But that support is limited. Officials with deep knowledge of Boko Haram’s finances say that any links with al Qaeda or its affiliates are inconsequential to Boko Haram’s overall funding.

“Any financial support AQIM might still be providing Boko Haram would pale in comparison to the resources it gets from criminal activities,” said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Assessments differ, but one U.S. estimate of financial transfers from AQIM was in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars. That compares with the millions of dollars that Boko Haram is estimated to make through its kidnap and ransom operations.

LUCRATIVE KIDNAPPING RACKET

Ransoms appear to be the main source of funding for Boko Haram’s five-year-old Islamist insurgency in Nigeria, whose 170 million people are split roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims, said the U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In February last year, armed men on motorcycles snatched Frenchman Tanguy Moulin-Fournier, his wife and four children, and his brother while they were on holiday near the Waza national park in Cameroon, close to the Nigerian border.

Boko Haram was paid an equivalent of about $3.15 million by French and Cameroonian negotiators before the hostages were released, according to a confidential Nigerian government report later obtained by Reuters.

Figures vary on how much Boko Haram earns from kidnappings. Some U.S. officials estimate the group is paid as much as $1 million for the release of each abducted wealthy Nigerian.

It is widely assumed in Nigeria that Boko Haram receives support from religious sympathizers inside the country, including some wealthy professionals and northern Nigerians who dislike the government, although little evidence has been made public to support that assertion.

Current and former U.S. and Nigerian officials say Boko Haram’s operations do not require significant amounts of money, which means even successful operations tracking and intercepting their funds are unlikely to disrupt their campaign.

Boko Haram had developed “a very diversified and resilient model of supporting itself,” said Peter Pham, a Nigeria scholar at the Atlantic Council think-tank in Washington.

“It can essentially ‘live off the land’ with very modest additional resources required,” he told a congressional hearing on June 11.

LOW-COST WEAPONS

“We’re not talking about a group that is buying sophisticated weapons of the sort that some of the jihadist groups in Syria and other places are using. We’re talking AK-47s, a few rocket-propelled grenades, and bomb-making materials. It is a very low-cost operation,” Pham told Reuters.

That includes paying local youth just pennies a day to track and report on Nigerian troop movements.

Much of Boko Haram’s military hardware is not bought, it is stolen from the Nigerian army.

In February, dozens of its fighters descended on a remote military outpost in the Gwoza hills in northeastern Borno state, looting 200 mortar bombs, 50 rocket-propelled grenades and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. [ID:nL3N0OD3BU]

Such raids have left the group well armed. In dozens of attacks in the past year Nigerian soldiers were swept aside by militants driving trucks, motor bikes and sometimes even stolen armored vehicles, firing rocket-propelled grenades.

Boko Haram’s inner leadership is security savvy, not only in the way it moves money but also in its communications, relying on face-to-face contact, since messages or calls can be intercepted, the current and former U.S. officials said.

“They’re quite sophisticated in terms of shielding all of these activities from legitimate law enforcement officials in Africa and certainly our own intelligence efforts trying to get glimpses and insight into what they do,” a former U.S. military official said.

U.S. officials acknowledge that the weapons that have served Washington so well in its financial warfare against other terrorist groups are proving less effective against Boko Haram.

“My sense is that we have applied the tools that we do have but that they are not particularly well tailored to the way that Boko Haram is financing itself,” a U.S. defense official said.

(Additional reporting by Tim Cocks in Abuja. Editing by David Storey, Jason Szep and Ross Colvin)

http://news.yahoo.com/boko-haram-beating-u-efforts-choke-financing-052820382.html

Are they trying to tell us that they cant catch them....
With all there super power and intelligences... This all they can come up with.

Only God can save us.

Everybody know that the jonathan led military is boko haram's quartermaster.
Rather than fight , they cut and run leaving behind all their military hardware for the terrorist to loot and resupply
You cannot fail to mention the brain dead and corrupt military chiefs who cannot provide just one fortified forward operating stations (base) for their troops.
Nigeria ,
Dead country.

Gej needs to address the problem at hand before it escalates beyond his powers

GEJ keeps getting exposed as incompetent, sectarian and clannish. GEJ now that u know that Americawillknow now know that Northern leaders are not funding BH, in stink meaner voice, what are u gonna dooo? GEJ should be impeached b4 he throws all of us down a cliff!

Now that Nigerians most trusted organization have spoken, they should stop trading accusation instead of dealling with it.
We have seen that boko haram have inflitrate our army and jtf, so the problem is getting worse by the day.
Our army needs a sustainable organizational structure, after that they can talk about funding.

Now that the US officials have told us the truth maybe we can now say they are sponsored by APC.

When people would leave the truth and be chasing after lies is what i dont understand

In the depth of their mind everyone knows this Boko Haram is a Jonathan and PDP arrangement. Azazi said it, cost him his job and life

They just told you who isn't responsible if una get sense now it's time to ask who is?!

PDP na Boko Haram,Boko Haram na PDP

-Andrew Owoye Azazi

Even the US is not straight-forward in her sayings...

Why do I have this feeling they are behind the Boko haram ish?

Americans has come and see the multi-complexity of Nigeria self-inflicted sufferings.

Enemies of Nigeria state are under permanent curse of blood

America, God will see you, continue

PDP is Bokoharam and Bokoharam is PDP - Gen. Azazi


For Insurgency to last in a Country for more than 24hrs the government must have a hand in it.

Gen. Sani Abacha

Another trash coming from a country that is even worse than Nigeria. It's time for GEJ to know that 'America does not know'. They don't know jack about Africa!

cKaiser: Now that the US officials have told us the truth maybe we can now say they are sponsored by APC.

When people would leave the truth and be chasing after lies is what i dont understand

In the depth of their mind everyone knows this Boko Haram is a Jonathan and PDP arrangement. Azazi said it, cost him his job and life

u pepl re just bunch of jokers.u beleve any news dat favour u nd discard d ones dat dnt.d world bank said nija economy is more dan dat of south.al of una shout na lie.u pepl stl floatd a weakleaks theory dat d u.s re d boko nd its d same us dats teling u its nt anti gej politicans sponsring dm.ok u pepl kald ffk names wen he fingerd apc nd in less dan 72hours dia is a counter ffk testimony aganst pdp.one tin is clear no mata hw u pepl paint our son gej,we re waitng patiently who wil take over frm hm nd lets knw who hs d highest armoury.

Really then what are the northern politicians doing?

What kind of mischievious Editing is this? Ngwakwe you bigot, how dare you change the original title of thread? Since the original title was devoid of libel and malice, how dare you change it before putting it on FP? You EVIL sentimental partisan! Kumuyi would be ashamed of you if he knows all the things you say and do on this forum. Rubbish

One day, the whole truth will come out.
Victorciza(the beaf & insincerenigerian incarnate) will doubt this story.

Someone wrote this

I cannot for the life of me comprehend how utterly irrational some people are: So
just to discredit GEJ, APC/Northerners will:
1. Create, arm, sustain and support Boko Haram on a rampage that;

a. Kills hundreds of Muslims
b. Destroys Northern Schools
c. Bombs Mosques
d. Slaughter their own kids
e Kidnap their girls
f. Kill their imams
g. Destroys their cities, crops, livestock, and livelihood
h. Turns them to refugees across Cameroon and Niger
2. Just to deny Jonathan a second term, the North will
a. Ravage its Economy
b. Destroy its Political base
c. Murder APC members

See how silly that looks? if the North wants to discredit GEJ, it instead would attack PDP members, GEJ Loyalist and structures. In short, the North and/or BH will fundamentally direct their insurgency at the socio-political base of GEJ so as to create disillusionment, disaffection, fear and frustration from his brethren and supporters especially those from the North.

FACTS
Someone, somewhere is fomenting this unrest precisely to generate the reaction of
the most nigerians gullible afterall. BH is a creation of someone, somewhere to discredit the north, destroy its economy and people, divide its unity, destabilize it politically, and ultimately cause the balkanization of nigeria. And it shall fail insha Allah.

.

Is truly amazing, how the americans are desperately trying to protect their northern islamic friends.

atlwireles: Is truly amazing, how the americans are desperately trying to protect their northern islamic friends.

i noticed this trend has been on for a long time now. lets see where it will lead to.

Kk

atlwireles: Is truly amazing, how the americans are desperately trying to protect their northern islamic friends.

I am a Muslim, and a Northerner.I have travelled through all areas of the north,know people of diverse ideologies! But still haven't met anyone that understands the phenomenum of Boko haram. Its unfortunate that in Nigeria, many claim to be educated but are actually illiterates. Many like you will say Buhari is behind boko haram IBB, the Northern elders are all behind boko haram etc but without actually any proof,whereas those found making incriminating comments are given a breathin space. How do we help solve the problem when everybody points accusing finger to the wrong people?

Before it was IBB, then Chiroma, then Atiku, then Buhari, Ango Ibrahim. No it was Nndume, then Babangida ALIYU, it later turn to Kwankwaso, Lamido Sanusi, then shifted to Nyako and then Shettima, now na American. Today if I am a credible opposition to GEJ I instantly become I boko haram sponsor.
Let all the citizens be wise. If any part of the country wishes to secede, it should employ a civilised and conventional means instead of cheap blackmail.

Every straight thinking, and non-dogmatic creature has always known this.

Why would Shettima kill and maim his people, -the very ones that he hopes would re-elect him in 2015?
Why would Shettima limit his constitutional rights -he is just a figure head in the state of emergency, because of your perceived he has hatred for Jonathan?

Why wasn't he a sponsor before he joined APC in 2014? *Oh, he only "remembered" to sponsor because of Jona.*
He was in PDP from 2011-early 2014, why didn't you label him a sponsor?

You claim only Northerners would vote APC, yet you accuse them of being behind the attacks. Who kills his electorates? It simply defies every logic!! A pointer to the fact that Jonathan's supporters are the most illogical and cretinous creatures around!!

The two moro,,ns above me are very good examples. Not Nafeesa o! Bunch of bigoted and inept things!

atlwireles: Is truly amazing, how the americans are desperately trying to protect their northern islamic friends.

dgitrader:

i noticed this trend has been on for a long time now. lets see where it will lead to.

The US wants regime change by employing all their necessary machinery.

* Initial Refusal to proscribe Bokoharam as terrorist organisation
* Stopped buying Nigeria crude oil.
* Discrediting our military and government.
* CIA spying and refusal to share military Intelligence acquired through permission from our government citing unnecessary reasons.
* Etc.

Nafeesa AA:

I am a Muslim, and a Northerner.I have travelled through all areas of the north,know people of diverse ideologies! But still haven't met anyone that understands the phenomenum of Boko haram. Its unfortunate that in Nigeria, many claim to be educated but are actually illiterates. Many like you will say Buhari is behind boko haram IBB, the Northern elders are all behind boko haram etc but without actually any proof,whereas those found making incriminating comments are given a breathin space. How do we help solve the problem when everybody points accusing finger to the wrong people?

Before it was IBB, then Chiroma, then Atiku, then Buhari, Ango Ibrahim. No it was Nndume, then Babangida ALIYU, it later turn to Kwankwaso, Lamido Sanusi, then shifted to Nyako and then Shettima, now na American. Today if I am a credible opposition to GEJ I instantly become I boko haram sponsor.
Let all the citizens be wise. If any part of the country wishes to secede, it should employ a civilised and conventional means instead of cheap blackmail.

I'm going to give you one more chance on this forum to start a conversation, with some level of decency and self respect. I might have been born at night, but I wasn't born last night. I don't need some empty bla,bla,bla, blah.

It's not stolen mind u,most army re boko harram

nawa o

Ngwakwe:



The US wants regime change by employing all their necessary machinery.

* Initial Refusal to proscribe Bokoharam as terrorist organisation
* Stopped buying Nigeria crude oil.
* Discrediting our military and government.
* CIA spying and refusal to share military Intelligence acquired through permission from our government citing unnecessary reasons.
* Etc.

We are all watching,with our eyes wide open.Their fear of China in west africa, has become the beginning of wisdom.