In a major counterterrorism breakthrough, 44 individuals have been sentenced to 10–30 years in prison with hard labour for financing the jihadist group Boko Haram, Nigeria’s National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) confirmed on Saturday.

The convictions were handed down by four Federal High Courts convened at the Kainji military base in Niger State, as part of Phase 7 of Nigeria’s mass terrorism trials. The remaining 10 defendants had their cases postponed.

These verdicts bring the total number of terrorism-related convictions in Nigeria to 785, reflecting a strategic shift toward dismantling the financial networks that sustain extremist groups like Boko Haram and its offshoot, ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province).

The convicted individuals were found guilty of laundering money, funding logistics, and purchasing weapons used in attacks across Nigeria’s northeast. Some were directly linked to Boko Haram cells operating in Borno State, the epicenter of the insurgency.

Boko Haram, founded in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf, launched its insurgency in 2009 after Yusuf’s extrajudicial killing. Under Abubakar Shekau, the group escalated its campaign with suicide bombings, mass kidnappings, and attacks on schools and religious sites, including the infamous 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok.

The group’s ideology, rooted in Wahhabi fundamentalism, rejects Western education and governance, blaming them for Nigeria’s corruption and inequality. Its name, Boko Haram, loosely translates to “Western education is forbidden”.

The insurgency has killed over 40,000 people and displaced millions, spilling into Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, and triggering a regional humanitarian crisis.

Nigeria’s counterterrorism strategy now includes targeting financiers, monitoring informal financial channels, and strengthening compliance among banks and mobile money operators.

However, rights groups have raised concerns over due process, citing closed trials, limited legal access, and group prosecutions that may sweep up innocent civilians.

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