Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC) / Transparency International in Nigeria (TI Nigeria) has commenced a 2-day sensitization workshop for accountability media on de-escalating violent extremism and terrorism financing through conflict-sensitive reporting in the North East.
The workshop includes media practitioners, security agencies, and traditional rulers from the North East subregion. It began on Wednesday in Yola, the headquarters of Adamawa State, with the aim of addressing terrorism financing and understanding early warning signals to prevent it.
The meeting falls under the ‘Citizens’ Mobilization against Terrorism Financing and Prevention of Violent Extremism in North-East Nigeria Project’, currently implemented by CISLAC/TI-Nigeria and financed by GIABA-ECOWAS.
It aims to raise journalists’ awareness of conflict-sensitive reporting and their role in exposing drivers and enablers of terrorism financing while preventing violent extremism in the North East.
The workshop represents a continuous engagement with the media unit over the past years, focusing on various interventions to strengthen Nigeria’s anti-money laundering efforts and counter terrorism financing.
In a goodwill message at the workshop’s opening, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), emphasized the need to address the complex issues sustaining terrorism. “The tactics we refer to as terrorism require several ‘feeders’ to be sustained,” he noted. These include susceptible youths manipulated as foot-soldiers, ungoverned spaces, and crucially, funding.
He commended the workshop organizers for addressing critical issues, acknowledging the devastating impact of terrorism on Nigeria. Audi expressed hope that the outcomes of the workshop would contribute significantly to ongoing efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism in the North East and nationwide.
“Similar to any legitimate business, terrorism would collapse without adequate funding,” Audi stressed. He highlighted various expenses terrorists incur, such as arms, ammunition, explosives, and operational costs, funded through methods like armed robbery, kidnapping, extortion, and cattle rustling.
Audi advocated for comprehensive strategies beyond identifying funding sources to tracking and legally blocking suspicious transactions. He emphasized cooperation among relevant stakeholders to starve terrorists of financial resources.
Adamawa State Police Commissioner, Morris Dankombo, echoed Audi’s sentiments, describing the workshop as timely given the region’s challenges with terrorism and banditry. He assured that law enforcement agencies are collaborating closely to enhance security in Adamawa State.
Abubakar Jimoh of CISLAC explained that the workshop aims to equip journalists with skills for in-depth investigative journalism, particularly in exposing terrorism financiers and promoters of violence in the North East.
