THE Federal Government may have discovered more sources
where funding of the operations of Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People
Biafra (IPOB), going by the revelation of a top Presidency official.
Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, had last Wednesday,
declared that the sources of funds for IPOB had been traced to France
and the United Kingdom.
But Senior Special Assistant to the president on Diaspora
Affairs, Honourable Abike Dabiri, who spoke with Sunday Tribune at the
sideline of the ongoing 72nd Session of the United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA) in New York, disclosed that foreign sources of funds for
the secessionist group were more than the two already named by
government.
According to her, it is now easier for government to trace
the group’s sources of funds and block them, unlike before the
government declared it as a terrorist organisation.
Dabiri noted that the declaration of the group as a
terrorist organisation followed a meticulous investigation by the
federal government.
She revealed that these sources had been known to the
Federal Government for over a long period, adding that now that
government had acted decisively by declaring IPOB a terrorist group, the
funding countries had no choice but to cut off the support.
According to her, the issue was the focus of discussion
between the Federal Government and Nigerians in the Diaspora during
recent meeting in the United Kingdom.
She said: “These sources of funds have been known for a long
time to have been coming from the Diaspora. But I think after proper
investigation, Nigeria has always known that the issue has been from
abroad, the funding was from abroad.
“Two countries have been identified and I believe it is even
much more than that. Now that they know, they need to work with
Nigeria, to support us and stop another form of terrorism.”
On stopping individuals abroad who may be remitting money to
the group, Dabiri said that was left for the financial institutions to
tackle.
She further said: “I think the financial institutions know
how to do it. It is easy to trace money and to know where it is going
to.
“So, that will be left for the institutions to deal with.
Once you know and you know where this is going to, I think it is easy to
deal with.
“But now that it is official, the next step is to block the source of funding.”
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