The report starts with the geography of illicit economies and the predations of violent extremist groups in the region, highlighting the integration of urban areas. [...] At an early stage of the insurgency, Boko Haram infiltrated Cameroonian towns near the Nigerian border and issued threats to traders and transport operators unless they ‘contributed to the financing of the jihad’ – possibly aided by the fact that the Cameroonian government at that stage still considered the problem to be one of banditry rather than a terror- ist insurgency.47 Research by the Globa. [...] The number of people prosecuted in the same city for ‘laundering the proceeds of terrorist acts’ jumped from four in 2015, to 29 in 2016, 36 the following year and 39 in 2018.68 Though this increase could be the result of stricter enforcement, it nonetheless shows the importance of the city and its surrounding region as a hub for Boko Haram stooges. [...] ulation of prices further undermines the businesses Such is the importance of the city to the insurgent of those living off the cattle trade which is so vital economy that a security official said in 2017 that for Maiduri’s economy.109 The economic damage was Boko Haram’s stolen cattle ‘have just one destina- worsened by the Nigerian government’s decision in tion which is the cattle market in Maid. [...] © Audu Marte/AFP via Getty Images Illicit economies and IDP camps in Maiduguri Much of the humanitarian and economic disruption The situation in the area has changed dramati- of the conflict is manifested physically in Maiduguri cally since late 2021, when the state government in the form of displaced populations.
- Pages
- 54
- Published in
- Switzerland
