Nigeria’s Black Axe, a Rising Organized Crime Group, by Jan-Philipp Scholz

Hundreds of arrests and millions in stolen assets: the toll of an Interpol attack on the African mafia group Black Axe. What is behind the group that once began as a student group fighting colonial rule?

Whenever Stephan Fuchs starts talking about Black Axe, his desk quickly fills with dozens of notes, arrows, and diagrams. The co-director of Victras, a Swiss NGO that fights human trafficking, says these complex internal machinations are exactly what makes the group so successful. “The authorities can recognize the Nigerian networks,” he explains, “but for a long time no one understood the group dynamics and the mechanisms behind them.”

For years, Fuchs has advised law enforcement on groups like Black Axe and explained how they spread. In Europe, the general public is barely aware of such groups, even though criminal organizations like these have increased in recent years.

“They are involved in international drug trafficking, money laundering, Internet fraud, human trafficking and sometimes even protection rackets,” Fuchs says. “In Libya, there was even arms trafficking.”

A professional network for criminals

Prosecutors have recently focused on the Black Axe group. Between April and July this year, Interpol’s global network of law enforcement agencies conducted Operation Jackal III, targeting organized crime groups in West Africa. The anti-financial crime operation saw the arrest of 300 individuals, the freezing of 720 bank accounts, and the identification of more than 400 suspects worldwide. Law enforcement officers from 21 countries were involved.

A desk with various black and white objects, the distinctive colors of the Black Axe criminal groupA desk with various black and white objects, the distinctive colors of the Black Axe criminal group

“The results of this operation underscore the critical need for international law enforcement collaboration to combat these vast criminal networks,” said Isaac Oginni, Director of Interpol’s Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes Centre.

In tracking the criminal activities of Black Axe, two types of crimes stand out in particular: Internet fraud and financial fraud. Uche Tobias is one of those who has been warning about the global spread of the organization for years. During his research, the private investigator came across chat forums where criminals ridiculed their victims. Many of these victims were women who had been tricked into believing they were in a romantic relationship before paying large sums of money to their scammers.

How to Spot Online Scammers

The deeper Tobias delved into the organization, the more he discovered a terrifying criminal world. “This secret society is like LinkedIn for criminals,” he says. “The members know exactly where to find Person X, who can provide fake IDs, or Person Y, who offers stolen credit cards.”

This loose network, without hierarchical structure, is what makes Black Axe so successful. The fraud investigator received numerous death threats when he first published his findings, and so he chose “Uche Tobias” as his pseudonym.

Brotherhood, sect or criminal organization?

Black Axe is not the only Nigerian criminal group that has been growing for years, explains Stephan Fuchs. “The Supreme Eiye Confraternity, the Supreme Vikings Confraternity, the Green Circuit Association International, the Eternal Fraternal Order of the Legion Consortium, are probably the most well-known in Europe.”

Prosecutors often disagree when it comes to describing these types of groups. While some refer to them as secret associations or simply criminal networks, others prefer the terms “fraternity” or “sect.”

“All labels are appropriate,” Fuchs says.

This makes prosecution even more difficult because it means that not all members of the group are involved in criminal activity. Many of these secret societies originated in the 1950s and 1960s during Nigeria’s independence movement, when many young underground activists formed student groups to fight against colonial rule.

But in the midst of political turmoil, criminals infiltrated these groups and began recruiting young people predisposed to violence from the streets.

Death Threats for School Dropouts
John Omoruan has been a member of Black Axe for years. Despite the dangers he faced, he has chosen to speak openly about the inner workings of the group. He says the group began to slide into organized crime in the 1980s: “That’s when they discovered they could smuggle marijuana into Europe.”

Criminals began infiltrating Black Axe because it provided the ideal framework for their business. Meanwhile, terrifying rituals instilled unquestioning loyalty and absolute secrecy in new members. Omoruan says that later, the groups became increasingly ruthless and began to spread to communities around the world. But he doesn’t believe their original organizational principles have changed much.

Fuchs believes Interpol’s recent operation shows that law enforcement is improving its understanding of the structures and systems in place at Black Axe. But he cautioned against resting on our laurels. When it comes to combating these groups, he says it’s important to see them for what they are: organized crime.

This article was translated from German.

Source:
https://www.dw.com/en/nigerias-black-axe-an-organized-crime-group-on-the-rise/a-70085201

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