ISWAP discontinues usage of the naira in Lake Chad and switches to CFAs

The Nigerian government’s decision to redesign and reissue larger denominations of the Naira has prompted the terrorist organization ISWAP’s Shura Council to forbid accepting money from farmers and fishermen.

The new N200, N500, and N1000 notes will begin to be issued by the Nigerian government in December, and by January 31, 2023, the previous notes will no longer be accepted as legal cash.

The ISWAP population in the Tumbus of Lake Chad, which is far from bank branches, is said to have been confused by the government’s decision since it will be very difficult for them to convert their current cash into new currency notes.

Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency expert and security analyst working in the Lake Chad region, was informed by an intelligence source that the rebels are now getting West African CFA Francs, which they want to use to replace the Nigerian Naira as the region’s primary unit of exchange.

According to the sources, to stop the Naira from reaching the terrorists’ camps in Lake Chad, the terrorists also forbade any Nigerian farmers, herders, and fishermen from slipping into the lake through Marte, Abadam, and Gamborun Ngala.

The ISWAP Militant Commanders in charge of taxes and levies, Ibn Umar and Malam Banana, who enforced the restriction, said that only villages in the Cameroon Republic named Bulgarian, Cikka, Guma, Malta, Doron Liman, and Ramin Dorina were secure entry points for people.

In return, ISWAP collects monthly taxes from the persons who seem extremely eager to pay in the amount of 1,500 West African CFA Francs.

To provide traders access to supplies like food, guns, gasoline, and other logistics, they also secured trade routes for them.