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The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has revealed that terrorist financiers are using pre-registered SIM cards and bank accounts opened in women’s names to conceal the identities of those controlling illicit funds.
The finding was contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report, which identified disconnected SIM-BVN linkages and proxy accounts as emerging enablers of financial crime and highlighted the role of technology-enabled channels in terrorist financing.
According to the agency, terrorist facilitators use phone numbers for mobile banking or account alerts that are not registered to the account holder or the true beneficiary, while male commanders and logistics managers secretly control accounts opened in women’s names.
What the report is saying
The NFIU said terrorist facilitators are bypassing the security link between SIM cards and Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) through several methods.
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- “They bypass the security link between SIM cards and Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) by using pre-registered SIMs, SIMs registered to deceased people, or SIMs tied to gender-based proxies,” the report said.
The agency said the practice makes it more difficult for investigators to trace suspicious transactions to the individuals actually controlling them.
- “This severs the audit trail: when a transaction is flagged, investigators trace the phone to an unrelated person, letting the real facilitator stay anonymous and continue operations,” the report added.
The NFIU specifically listed “weak customer identification controls, disconnected SIM–BVN linkages, and limited oversight of certain digital financial services” among the emerging enablers of financial crime identified in 2025.
Terrorists also use proxy bank accounts
The report identified proxy accounts as another method used by terrorist financiers to distance themselves from illicit funds.
According to the NFIU, terrorist financiers are opening bank accounts in women’s names while male commanders and logistics managers secretly control them.
The agency said they exploit cultural norms that make women less likely to be suspected by authorities, using wives, sisters or female associates as fronts to distance illicit funds from the true operatives.
- “This tactic functions as identity laundering: women’s accounts are managed by men who hold ATM cards, mobile-banking credentials, and PINs, while the women often remain unaware of the transactions and volumes,” the report said.
The NFIU said the arrangement allows the actual operators to remain separated from the accounts through which illicit funds are moved.
Get up to speed
The NFIU’s finding comes amid broader efforts by Nigerian regulators and identity authorities to strengthen the links between digital identities, mobile numbers and financial accounts.
- In July 2025, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) announced that all telecommunications operators had migrated to its NINAuth platform, designed to strengthen NIN verification and improve the security of Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem.
- In January 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) urged banks and other financial institutions to respond faster to emerging electronic fraud threats, including SIM-swap attacks, social engineering and insider compromise.
- The CBN also stressed the importance of effective KYC and KYD processes supported by real-time NIN and BVN validation.
In March 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced new security requirements for mobile banking and digital payments, including real-time validation of online account openings and reactivations against BVN and NIN databases.
The measures also require financial institutions to deploy fraud-monitoring systems capable of detecting suspicious transactions in real time.
What you should know
The NFIU’s findings come as Nigerian regulators strengthen technology-driven systems to identify and monitor terrorism-financing risks across the financial sector.
On August 12, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered all capital market-regulated entities to subscribe to the Nigeria Sanctions (NigSac) Alerts system, which provides alerts on individuals and entities designated for terrorism financing and proliferation financing.
The SEC also directed market operators to immediately freeze funds and other economic resources belonging to designated persons and entities, report the actions to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee and file suspicious transaction reports with the NFIU.
