A few weeks after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced a plan to redesign naira notes to combat counterfeits and terrorism, the terrorists’ faction of the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP) has switched to another currency as a means of transaction for the illegal tax it collects from peasant farmers and fishermen, Daily Trust reports.
WikkiTimes learnt that the CBN’s plan shook the terrorists in their camps, especially those in the Tumbus of Lake Chad. However, they switched to the West African CFA as a currency of trade in the area, according to Zagazola Makama, a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region.
ZagaZola added that the terrorists had denied access to Nigerian farmers and traders from entering Lake Chad through some parts of the country — Marte, Abadam, and Gamborun Ngala — in order to prevent them from using the naira as a form of exchange.
The expert added that the terror leaders who imposed the rule, Ibn Umar and Malam Ba’ana, will only allow Nigerians to come in from Bulgaram, Cikka, Guma, Maltam, Doron Liman and Ramin Dorina villages in Cameroon Republic. All these routes are governed by ISWAP.
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In exchange, ISWAP collects 1,500 West African CFA Francs, monthly taxes from the people who appear very willing to pay, according to Daily Trust. They have also secured trade routes for merchants, to enable them access foodstuffs, weapons, fuel and other logistics.
The CBN had announced that N200, N500 and N1000 notes would no longer be in circulation by January 2023. According to the country’s apex bank, there will be new denominations of the enlisted notes by December 15, 2022.
