The Army chief, Gen Ariyibi, is backing claims that Boko Haram is receiving foreign funding by stating that it is obvious.

 

Boko Haram and other terrorists are being funded by foreign collaborators, as reported by Major General Adekunle Ariyibi, who heads the Chief of Defence Standards and Evaluations at Defence Headquarters (DHQ).

 

On February 17th, Ariyibi made this statement when he appeared on Channels TV. According to him, the war against terrorism in Nigeria has persisted because Boko Haram and ISWAP receive foreign backing.

 

    “There’s no doubt about it that this sort of operation cannot be sustainable for the past 15 years without some sort of external collaboration and assistance. It’s obvious that the operations of Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West African Province (ISWAP) have metamorphized since their allegiance with ISIS, and they have had access to international funding which is beyond the shores of Nigeria. It’s obvious in the calibre of weapons you see them display. It’s obvious in the sort of sustainability plans that they have. Right now, they are moving into drones and not only surveillance drones but also drones that can deliver leather weaponry.”

 

He asserted this, a few days after US Congressman Scott Perry claimed that the aborted United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supplied funds to terrorist groups including Boko Haram.

 

The comment has been influential in discussions in Nigeria and beyond, and General Ariyibi acknowledges that such terrorist organizations have foreign sponsors.

 

    “So, there’s no doubt about it that this is the lifeline which is sustaining these operations beyond the local collections that they make on taxing and all of that.

    You can’t say it’s just an allegation; it’s more than that,” a former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics. “That’s why the Nigerian government and the National Assembly, especially, need to look into it to investigate and verify the veracity of such a very weighty allegation.”