Nigerian mafia
| Founding location | Nigeria |
|---|---|
| Territory | Nigeria, South Africa, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, United States, India, Japan |
| Criminal activities | 419 Scams, Drug trafficking, Weapon trafficking, Prostitution, Contract killing, extortion, illegal diamond smuggling, Robbery, Fraud, Money laundering, Human trafficking, Kidnapping. |
| Allies | Hard Livings, Sicilian Mafia, Yakuza |
Organized crime in Nigeria may refer to a number of fraudsters, drug traffickers and racketeers of various sorts originating from Nigeria. Nigerian criminal gangs rose to prominence in the 1980s, owing much to the globalization of the world's economies and the high level of lawlessness already in the country.
Criminal organizations from Nigeria typically do not follow the mafia-type model followed by other groups. They appear to be less formal and more organized along familial and ethnic lines, thus making them less susceptible by infiltration from law enforcement. Police investigations are further hampered by the fact there are at least 250 distinct ethnic languages in Nigeria. Other criminal gangs from Nigeria appear to be smaller-scale freelance operations. Most Nigerian organized crime syndicates are of Igbo or Yoruba origin. Groups from Benin City are especially notorious for human trafficking.
An example of this are the highly organized confraternities/campus gangs that operate worldwide, for example the Neo Black Movement of Africa. In its own words, the Neo Black Movement of Africa is a "registered non-partisan, non-religious and non-tribal organisation that sincerely seek to revive, retain and modify where necessary those aspects of African culture that would provide vehicles of progress for Africa and her peoples".
The current worldwide head of the Neo Black Movement is Augustus Bemigho-Oyeoyibo. A representative of the Neo Black Movement of Africa has claimed to be separate from the Black Axe groups and has engaged in charitable giving.
Behind the welfare facade of the Neo Black Movement hides indeed the most dreaded Nigerian campus cult, the Black Axe confraternity. NBM usually state that they are not identical with Black Axe for propaganda purposes. While the atrocities committed by campus cult members are well-known, very little is known about other activities of the Neo Black Movement. Offiong claims that the group's initial goal of promoting black consciousness and fighting for the dignity of Africans and their freedom from neo-colonialism has deteriorated into self-serving behaviour that is "notoriously and brutally violent". He maintains that violence has in fact become the cult's official policy.
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