Where Does Boko Haram Get its Funding?

Executive Summary

• Nigeria is an impoverished country, yet Boko Haram is extremely well funded.
• We analyze where Boko Haram is obtaining its funding.

Introduction

Boko Haram in Nigeria practices Wahabbism – which is a branch of Sunni Islam only practiced in a few places in the world — Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Why would Boko Haram, in Nigeria, choose such a niche and marginal branch of Sunni Islam to practice unless they were being funded by an entity that followed Wahabbism?

Our References

See our references for this article and related articles at this link.

Saudi Arabia is known for supporting terrorism. However, so is Qatar. 

According to Counter Terrorism, Qatar has been caught transferring funds to the following terrorist groups.

• Al Qaeda
• Hama
• Muslim Brotherhood
• Al Nusra
• Taliban

And they have transferred funds using the following Qatar banks and charities.

• Al Rayan Bank
• Qatar National Bank
• Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Foundation
• Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services
• Qatar Charity

Curiously, Boko Haram is not listed as one of the terrorist organizations supported by Qatar.

I found very little on a specific link between Qatar and Boko Haram. However, I did find this in the quotation in Middle East Online.

Western reports have accused Qatar of multiple cases of interference in African affairs, including financing the Mujahideen Youth Movement in Somalia, supporting Chadian armed opposition, and fuelling instability in the Sahel by funding organisations from al-Qaeda in Mali, where cross-border terrorist violence has extended toward Niger and Burkina Faso.

State news broadcaster and government mouthpiece Al-Jazeera has drawn ire from regional leaders for allegedly fuelling unrest and backing Islamists during the Arab Spring movement, particularly in Tunisia where it has shown unwavering support for the Ennahda Islamist party, a constant and powerful presence in successive governments since 2011.

Qatari support for Islamist movements has been similarly exhibited in Tunisia’s North African neighbours Egypt, Libya and Morocco.

However, even here, I noticed that Boko Haram is just one of the many terrorist organizations in the Middle East Online.

Another issue is that Middle Eastern media is unreliable. There is no freedom of speech in the Middle East. Therefore, one has to be sure not to repeat what is just state-supported media accusing another rival country or government.

Al Jazeera published this video. The Qatari government entirely funds Al Jazeera.

Is there something Al Jazeera would like to tell us about the connection between Wahabbism and Boko Haram?

Would they like to talk about Boko Haram’s funding?

There is no reference to what type of Sunni Islam Boko Haram practices. This makes it very difficult to take Al Jazeera seriously. Al Jazeera has copied a polished Western production value but brings the freedom of speech and censorship of a Muslim country.

And there is another issue. Qatar has been in a multi-year conflict with Saudi Arabia, which had Qatar embargoed. Qatar has had Al Jazeera run critical programming on Saudi Arabia. There seem to be two options.

1. Qatar is funding Boko Haram and naturally will not have Al Jazeera cover this fact.
2. Saudi Arabia is not funding Boko Haram.
3. Saudi Arabia is funding Boko Haram, but Al Jazeera does not want to reveal this fact, as one of the main points of disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is that Qatar is funding terrorism.

Boko Haram’s Funding

Boko Haram’s funding is described in the following quotation.

Despite the poverty of northern Nigeria — where 70 percent of people live on less than a dollar per day — the Boko Haram terrorist group has at its disposal a seemingly limitless amount of heavy weaponry, vehicles, bombs and ammunition that it uses to kill with unfathomable wantonness.

Dozens more members of Boko Haram arrived at another village disguised as preachers and assembled the entire of village of Bargari ostensibly to teach Islam. Once gathered, “another large number of terrorists came from nowhere and opened fire on the congregation,” one resident told Nigeria’s Daily Post. “The gunmen numbering 20 ambushed the village with four Toyota Hilux vehicles, AK47 rifles, improvised explosive devices, and petrol bombs.”
According to a survey of academic, governmental and journalistic accounts, Boko Haram funds its escalating acts of terror through a diverse network of black market dealings, local and international benefactors, and links to al-Qaeda and other well-funded groups in the Middle East. Analysts say its fundraising apparatus is intricate and opaque. “The actual source of the funding,” wrote Heather Murdock in Voice of America, “is as elusive as the militants themselves.”

How is Boko Haram paying for all this? Who would finance this campaign of slaughter? – The Washington Post

Really? The Washington Post cannot figure out where Boko Haram’s funding comes from. Wouldn’t the branch of Islam practiced by Boko Haram be a clue?