The continuing crackdown against Nigerian Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram, has forced it to use cash loans to win recruits. Historically, when the group has come under pressure it has resorted to using financial incentives, and analysts suggest that it is currently using loans to recruit members. In a statement released on Monday, Nigeria’s finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who was in Washington for talks with President Barack Obama, said she had been told by U.S. officials that Boko ’s movements locally. “The group has deviated from its Yusufania philosophy after the death of the founder, Mohammed Yusuf, to a more radical one championed by a splinter group known as Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan, roughly translated as Vanguard for the Protection of Muslims in Black [Africa]. There are reports that these individuals have been kidnapped and pressed to support Boko Haram for religious reasons. When this hasn’t worked, they have been offered a loan on the understanding that the group expects it to be repaid. Many victims have reportedly complied with the group for fear of being killed if they refuse.
The continuing crackdown against Nigerian Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram, has forced it to use cash loans to win recruits. Historically, when the group has come under pressure it has resorted to using financial incentives, and analysts suggest that it is currently using loans to recruit members. In a statement released on Monday, Nigeria’s finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who was in Washington for talks with President Barack Obama, said she had been told by U.S. officials that Boko ’s movements locally. There are reports that these individuals have been kidnapped and pressed to support Boko Haram for religious reasons. When this hasn’t worked, they have been offered a loan on the understanding that the group expects it to be repaid. Many victims have reportedly complied with the group for fear of being killed if they refuse.