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Observatory of Illicit Economies in West Africa
Summary highlights
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Armed bandits extort crop farmers amid dwindling alternative illicit revenue sources in Zamfara, north-western Nigeria.
On 11 July 2022, residents of Dangulbi and Kango in Zamfara State, north-west Nigeria, were attacked by armed bandits for failing to pay a tax imposed on them by the bandits. This incident reflects the growing trend, first tracked in 2019, of bandits engaging in a new form of extortion by taxing farming activities in Zamfara as a way of gaining revenue. In addition to illegally imposing taxes on farmers, since 2022 in particular, bandits have become increasingly engaged directly in farming activities. Not only does the bandits’ shift from drawing financing from illicit economies to the taxation of licit activities pose a significant threat to farmers’ livelihoods and food security in the region, but as revenue becomes increasingly dependent on territorial control, this growing practice could indicate escalation in conflicts in Zamfara as different groups vie for control.
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Is wildlife crime in Cameroon’s Bouba Ndjida National Park financing an emerging separatist group in the north?
On 12 June 2022, in a forest in north-eastern Cameroon, clashes erupted between military forces and elements of the Mouvement de libération du Cameroun (Movement for the Liberation of Cameroon, MLC), a nascent separatist rebel group established in Chad. According to official sources, the MLC have been engaging in elephant poaching in the Bouba Ndjida National Park, situated near the border with Chad and CAR, highlighting the important role played by national parks and forests to armed groups. While poaching by the Sudanese Janjaweed, the primary actors involved in the illicit activity in the park over the past decades, has dwindled, it is possible that the MLC will seek to target wildlife in the national park to finance itself. Although the evidence thus far suggests that they are not currently a major threat, a failure to act may allow the rebels to exploit the perceived marginalization of communities in northern Cameroon.
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As Casamance rebels are weakened, is the Niokolo Koba National Park a potential fallback zone?
Since early 2021, the Senegalese military have launched a series of offensives in the country’s Casamance region against the Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance (Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance, MFDC). Following the dismantling of their bases, seizure of their weapons and weakening of traditional havens, the MFDC’s ability to translate territorial influence into revenue streams from illicit economies may be weakened. However, as witnessed in other countries in West Africa, armed groups often retreat into national parks following military and law enforcement action against them. The Niokolo Koba National Park, situated fewer than 400 kilometres from the Casamance region, could offer numerous possibilities to rebel groups to draw revenues from illicit activities they have long relied on, including the illicit trade in timber, cannabis and wildlife products.
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The number of civilian casualties is growing in West Africa as conflict areas increasingly overlap with illicit economies.
On 5 September 2022, a convoy of vehicles struck an improvised explosive device in Burkina Faso. The suspected Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin attack killed 35 civilians and injured several dozen more. Such incidents are evidence of the growing number of civilian casualties resulting from conflicts in the region. The findings of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime’s ‘Mapping illicit hubs in West Africa’ initiative show that the overwhelming majority of regions in West Africa that are most affected by conflict and violence are also home to at least one illicit hub. This highlights the increasing geographic overlap between conflict areas and zones of illicit activity, which has important implications not only for policymakers seeking to implement stabilization policies, but also for the prospective livelihoods of communities across the region.
About this issue
The fifth issue of the Risk Bulletin of Illicit Economies in West Africa explores several new trends emerging in the region, all of which are related to the exploitation of natural resources – or of those involved in harvesting natural resources – by armed actors. While in Nigeria a new form of extortion has emerged, targeting farming communities, recent developments in Senegal and Cameroon suggest that rebel groups may be turning to poaching in national parks as a source of financing.
This issue begins with the African continent’s largest economy, Nigeria. Over the past year, the Risk Bulletin has explored issues of armed banditry, cattle rustling, kidnap for ransom and communal violence, among other important security issues facing the country. This quarter, we turn our attention to an emerging trend in Zamfara State, where armed bandits are using the farming industry as a source of financing, either by imposing illegal taxes on farming communities or by directly engaging in illicit farming practices themselves.
The second and third articles explore the possibility of rebel groups engaging in illicit activity in national parks as a means of financing. The first focuses on Cameroon, where recent clashes have occurred between military forces and elements of a newly established separatist rebel group known as the Mouvement de libération du Cameroun (Movement for the Liberation of Cameroon). These clashes were the result of a military operation in response to suspected poaching activity by the latter in north-eastern Cameroon’s Bouba Ndjida National Park.
The other explores the significant shift in the balance of power in West Africa’s most longstanding conflict, following successful Senegalese military offensives against the Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance (Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance). The Niokolo Koba National Park, situated fewer than 400 kilometres from the Casamance region, could offer numerous possibilities to rebel groups to draw revenues from illicit activities.
These stories have emerged in the context of a broader trend witnessed across West Africa, the Sahel and parts of central Africa, in which armed groups are increasingly seeking refuge and entrenching themselves in national parks, wildlife reserves and forests.
Finally, the fourth article in this issue of the Risk Bulletin takes a step back to look at the relationship between conflict and illicit economies, centred around the findings of the Observatory of Illicit Economies in West Africa’s new initiative, ‘Mapping illicit hubs in West Africa’. As the number of civilians falling victim to conflict and violence in the region continues to rise, the increasing geographic overlap between conflict areas and zones of illicit activity has important implications for stabilization policies and for the prospective livelihoods of communities across the region.