Intelligence agencies from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso are reportedly preparing to release the names of senior Nigerian politicians accused of supporting bandit groups operating in Nigeria’s North-West.
According to security analyst Zagazola Makama, security experts have urged the Nigerian government to intensify investigations into arms procurement networks linked to notorious bandit kingpins in the region by working closely with Niger Republic and other members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
This development follows intelligence reports that AES agencies in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are probing Nigerian bandit leaders and their alleged financiers over cross-border arms deals.
Credible sources revealed that some Nigerian politicians, involved in peace agreements with armed groups, may have diverted large sums of state funds to the kingpins. The funds are allegedly being used to purchase weapons through proxies along the Nigeria–Niger border.
According to the report, the kingpins—responsible for kidnappings of schoolchildren, expatriates, and attacks on Nigerian security forces—procure high-caliber weapons using hard currency. Several suspected gunrunners connected to the arms network have recently been arrested by AES operatives and are under interrogation.
READ ALSO : https://parallelfactsnews.com/bandits-kill-newlywed-in-kwara-attack/
“The AES agencies have arrested gunrunners crossing into Nigeria who have links to these kingpins. The scale of their arms transactions is alarming,” a security source told Zagazola Makama.
The ongoing probe also seeks to determine whether officials who brokered peace deals with bandits knowingly enabled the diversion of public funds for arms purchases.
Security experts stress that Nigeria must engage Niger in joint investigations to dismantle the transnational terrorism networks and identify both local and foreign sponsors fueling insecurity in Nigeria, West Africa, and the wider Sahel region.
Source: Zagazola
Follow the Parallel Facts channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCQSAoHgZWiDjR3Kn2E
