The Theatre Commander, Joint Task Force North East, Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, has stressed the need to disrupt the financial lifelines sustaining terrorist organisations, as the military strengthens collaboration with the National Technical Risk Assessment Committee on Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs).
The collaboration is aimed at identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities that could be exploited to finance terrorism in the North East.
This was disclosed during a visit by the Committee to the Headquarters Theatre Command, Operation HADIN KAI, Maiduguri, on Wednesday, 19 August 2026, as part of the ongoing 2026 National Technical Risk Assessment of Non-Profit Organisations in Nigeria
According to a press release by the Acting Military Information Officer, Headquarters Joint Task Force North East, Operation HADIN KAI, Captain Mohammed Goni, Major General Abubakar described terrorism financing as a critical enabler of terrorist activities, stressing that efforts must focus on cutting off the financial and material resources that sustain terrorist groups.
“We must disrupt the financial lifelines that sustain terrorist organisations,” the Theatre Commander said, reaffirming OPHK’s commitment to supporting legitimate humanitarian and non-profit activities while ensuring strict compliance with established security and operational procedures.
He expressed concern over the movement of cash and humanitarian supplies without adequate documentation, security coordination and escort, urging NPOs and humanitarian organisations to provide sufficient advance notice of planned movements.
According to him, such coordination would enable OPHK to provide security escorts, route protection and, where necessary, air support.
Major General Abubakar also called for proper due diligence and security screening of local vendors and service providers engaged by humanitarian organisations.
He recalled that OPHK recently hosted a Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination Roundtable involving humanitarian actors and United Nations agencies, where challenges affecting humanitarian access, movement of personnel and the delivery of supplies were discussed, with measures agreed to improve coordination.
The Theatre Commander assured the Committee of OPHK’s readiness to provide relevant operational information and other support required to enrich the 2026 National Technical Risk Assessment, subject to security and operational considerations.
He commended the Committee for the initiative and reaffirmed the commitment of Operation HADIN KAI to strengthening inter-agency cooperation to disrupt terrorism financing and deny terrorist groups access to financial and material resources.
Major General Abubakar further urged legitimate NPOs operating in the North East to adhere strictly to established procedures, maintain close coordination with security authorities and promptly report suspicious activities or vulnerabilities that could be exploited by terrorist organisations.
The Committee’s Team Leader, Mrs Ibinabo Amachree, said the assessment builds on the findings of the 2022 National Risk Assessment and is being conducted ahead of Nigeria’s next international evaluation on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing.
Mrs Amachree noted that the 2022 assessment identified the North East and North West as areas of elevated terrorism-financing risk, citing vulnerabilities such as non-compliance with established operational procedures, the movement of large volumes of cash without adequate documentation and security arrangements, and the potential exploitation of humanitarian and service-oriented organisations by terrorist groups.
She explained that the current assessment adopts a risk-based approach to identify NPOs that may be particularly vulnerable to abuse for terrorism-financing purposes.
According to her, relevant agencies have also developed measures to strengthen the monitoring of identified high-risk organisations, including appropriate due diligence and vetting of personnel and vendors engaged by NPOs operating in vulnerable areas.
