The Defence headquarters, yesterday disclosed that security operatives have begunan intensive search for an unnamed businessman who has been said to be funding terrorist activities of the Boko Haram sect.
The businessman is said to be funding the insurgent group exclusive to the financial support the group allegedly receives from the dreaded international terrorist groups Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabab.
A top officer who disclosed this: “The security agencies are looking into local sources of funding of Boko Haram. We have got intelligence reports of how some individuals had been funding the insurgency in the North East.
“One of those under surveillance is a northern businessman. We have information on him and we have launched manhunt for him.
The source said there was candid evidence on ground that the said businessman might have visited the camps of Boko Haram at some point.
“There is a huge network financing insurgency in the country which we are trying to probe. It goes beyond conventional banking system”, he stressed.
The Defense Headquarters also said the air raid in the forests between Damaturu and Maiduguri where the Boko Haram camps are situated is still ongoing.
Besides, the source also added the businessman is suspected to have “acted in concert with some people.”
However, another security source stressed that there is suspicion that the overall plan of Boko Haram might be against the survival of Nigeria as a nation.
“Initially, we thought they were pursuing religious agenda. But with more focus on Muslims, it is apparent that the Boko Haram insurgency is after the decimation of Nigeria.
“This is why the President and Commander-in-Chief, President Goodluck Jonathan, has directed troops to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country. We have got to a stage where all Nigerians (irrespective of religions) have to unite against these insurgents”, he stated.