Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has revealed the sponsor of terrorists in Nigeria, where Boko Haram and Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) are rooted.
While speaking during his visit to thousands of soldiers and police officers training in Ankara, Turkey, Mohamud stated that Al-Shabaab funds terrorists in Nigeria.
“We have evidence that the money collected by Al-Shabaab is used in financing terror groups in Mozambique and Nigeria, with some going to Al-Qaeda.
Al-Shabaab is the East Africa franchise of Al-Qaeda, which is deep-seated in the Middle East and North Africa.
The 66-year-old founder and chairman of the Union for Peace and Development Party vowed that “We’ll shut down these revenue streams.”
Nigeria has been battling Ansaru, Boko Haram and ISWAP for over a decade.
Terrorists have killed thousands of citizens and displaced millions, especially in the North-Eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
The latest is Tuesday’s terrorists attack on the Kuje Prison in Abuja, where hundreds of inmates, including terrorists, were freed during the attack.
Al-Shabaab, also known as Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, is regarded as the most dreaded Islamic insurgency organization within the Horn of Africa.
The sect, which controls some rural areas in Somalia’s south, has vowed to oust the government.
The United States African Command found that Al-Shabaab is the most funded Al-Qaeda partner in the continent.
In a report, Mogadishu-based Heritage Institute of Policy Studies said the franchise operates with an annual budget of $100million.