The Nigerian Black Axe, also known as Neo-Black Movement (NBM), is a criminal organization with roots in Nigeria. It has gained international notoriety for its involvement in various illicit activities, including cybercrime, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and other forms of organized crime. The Italian Mafia, particularly groups like the Sicilian Mafia (Cosa Nostra), the ‘Ndrangheta, and the Camorra, has long been established in organized crime on a global scale, involving drug trafficking, extortion, and money laundering, among others.

Impact on Mafia Operations Worldwide

1. Geographical Overlap: The Nigerian Black Axe has expanded its operations globally, particularly in countries with large Nigerian diasporas like Italy, the UK, Canada, and the U.S. This expansion sometimes overlaps with territories traditionally controlled by the Italian Mafia, leading to conflicts and competition. For example, in Italy, Nigerian criminal groups, including the Black Axe, have reportedly clashed with the Italian Mafia over control of the drug trade and human trafficking routes.
2. Crime Proceeds: While both groups are involved in highly lucrative criminal enterprises, the Italian Mafia’s global network is more deeply entrenched, with well-established systems for laundering money and maintaining influence. The Black Axe has gained significant ground in cybercrime, which is a growing source of illicit proceeds. The group’s involvement in romance scams, business email compromise, and other forms of cyber fraud has generated billions of dollars, cutting into the overall criminal proceeds traditionally dominated by the Mafia.
3. Cybercrime vs. Traditional Crime: The rise of cybercrime has allowed the Black Axe to operate on a global scale without the need for the same physical presence or territorial control that the Mafia traditionally relies on. This shift has impacted the Mafia’s dominance, as cybercrime is increasingly becoming one of the most profitable areas of organized crime.
4. Law Enforcement Attention: Both the Black Axe and the Italian Mafia have attracted significant law enforcement attention. However, the transnational nature of the Black Axe’s operations, particularly in cybercrime, presents unique challenges for law enforcement, making it difficult to quantify the exact financial impact on Mafia operations.

While the Nigerian Black Axe is certainly cutting into areas of crime traditionally dominated by the Italian Mafia, particularly in cybercrime and human trafficking, it is difficult to quantify the exact financial impact. The Mafia remains deeply entrenched in traditional forms of organized crime with well-established networks. However, the rise of the Black Axe and similar groups highlights the evolving nature of global organized crime, where cyber activities are becoming increasingly dominant.

 

 

Nigeria’s Black Axe, an organized crime group on the rise
Hundreds of arrests and millions worth of stolen goods: The bottom line of an Interpol strike against African mafia group Black Axe. What’s behind the group which once started as a student group fighting colonial rule?

Whenever Stephan Fuchs starts talking about Black Axe, his desk quickly gets cluttered with dozens of notes, arrows, and diagrams. The co-director of Victras, a Swiss non-governmental organization fighting human trafficking, says these complex inner machinations are precisely what makes the group so successful. “Authorities can recognize Nigerian networks,” he explains, “but for a long time, nobody understood the group dynamics and mechanics behind them.”

For years, Fuchs has been advising law enforcement agencies on groups such as Black Axe and explaining how they spread. In Europe, the wider public is barely aware of such groups, even though criminal organizations like these have been on the rise in past years.

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

A professional network for criminals
Lately, prosecutors have been zeroing in on the Black Axe group. Between April and July this year, the global network of law enforcement agencies Interpol conducted Operation Jackal III, targeting West African organized crime groups. The anti-financial crime operation saw 300 individuals arrested, 720 bank accounts blocked, and over 400 suspects identified across the globe. Police officers from 21 countries were involved.

“This operation’s results underscore the critical need for international law enforcement collaboration to combat these extensive criminal networks,” Isaac Oginni, director of Interpol’s financial crime and anti-corruption center, explained.

When tracing the criminal activities of Black Axe, two types of crime stand out in particular: internet and financial fraud. Uche Tobias is one of those who have been warning about the global spread of the organization for years.

During his research, the private investigator came across chat forums in which criminals made fun of their victims. Many of those victims were women who had been misled to believe they were in a romantic relationship before paying out large sums of money to their scammers.

The further Tobias delved into the organization, the more he discovered a frightening criminal underworld. “This secret association 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, with no hierarchical structure, is what makes Black Axe so successful. The anti-fraud investigator received a number of death threats when he first published his findings — and hence chose ‘Uche Tobias’ as a pseudonym.

Confraternity, cult or criminal organization?

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

Prosecutors often already disagree when it comes to describing these kinds of groupings. While some refer to them as secret associations or simply criminal networks, others prefer the terms “confraternity” or “cult.”

“All labels are appropriate,” Fuchs says.

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

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But amidst the political turmoil, criminals infiltrated these groups and began recruiting young people from the streets who were primed for violence.

Death threats for dropouts
John Omoruan was a member of the Black Axe for years. Despite the dangers he faced, he decided to speak out about the inner workings of the group. He says that the group began drifting off into organized crime in the 1980s: “That’s when they discovered they could smuggle marijuana to Europe.”

Criminals began infiltrating Black Axe, because it provided the ideal structure for their dealings. Meanwhile, terrifying rituals inculcated new members in unconditional loyalty and absolute secrecy. Omoruan says that later, the groups became more and more ruthless, and began spreading through communities across the world. But he doesn’t believe their original organizing principles have changed much.

Fuchs believes Interpol’s recent operation shows that law enforcement is getting better at understanding the structures and systems at work in Black Axe. But he cautioned not to rest on those laurels. When it came to fighting these groups, he says it’s important to see them for what they are: organized crime.

Operations to tackle the Black Axe gang included arrests made in Switzerland
Police units around the world have joined forces in a series of covert operations targeting one of West Africa’s most feared criminal networks – Black Axe.
Operation Jackal III saw officers in body armour carry out raids in 21 countries between April and July 2024.
The mission, co-ordinated by global policing agency Interpol, led to the arrest of 300 people with links to Black Axe and other affiliated groups.
Interpol called the operation a “major blow” to the Nigerian crime network, but warned that its international reach and technological sophistication mean it remains a global threat.
In one notorious example, Canadian authorities said they had busted a money-laundering scheme linked to Black Axe worth more than $5bn (£3.8bn) in 2017.
“They are very organised and very structured,” Tomonobu Kaya, a senior official at Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, told the BBC.
According to a 2022 report by Interpol, “Black Axe and similar groups are responsible for the majority of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud as well as many other serious crimes”.
Mr Kaya said innovations in money-transfer software and cryptocurrency have played into the hands of group, which are renowned for multi-million dollar online scams.

“These criminal syndicates are early adopters of new technologies… A lot of fintech developments make it really easy to illegally move money around the world,” he said.
The ultra-violent cult that became a global mafia
Operation Jackal III was years in the making and led to the seizure of $3m of illegal assets and more than 700 bank accounts being frozen.

Many Black Axe members are university educated and are recruited during their schooling.
The organisation is a secretive criminal network with trafficking, prostitution and killing operations around the world.
Cyber-crime, targeting individuals and businesses, is the organisation’s largest source of revenue.
Multiple so-called “Jackal” police operations have taken place since 2022.
Dozens of Black Axe and other gang members have been arrested and their electronic devices seized during these transnational raids. This work has enabled Interpol to create a vast intelligence database, which is now shared with officers throughout its 196 member countries.
“We need to have data and to collate our findings from these countries to help build a picture of their modus operandi,” said Mr Kaya.

The Swiss police were pictured carefully going through the contents of a property they had raided
Despite multiple international arrests, some experts feel not enough is being done to address the root of these crime syndicates in West Africa.
“The emphasis must actually be on prevention not on outright operations against these criminal groups,” said Dr Oluwole Ojewale, West Africa Regional Co-ordinator from the Institute for Security Studies.
Nigeria, which has witnessed widespread anti-corruption protests in recent weeks, is one of Africa’s largest economies, but has as many as 87 million people living below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. It is also the main recruitment ground for Black Axe.

Interpol said it was carrying out training exercises with key Nigerian stakeholders and police officials. But corruption, and allegations of collusion between Black Axe and local authorities, remain major obstacles.

“It is the politicians who are actually arming these boys,” said Dr Ojewale. “The general failure of governance in the country has made pressures for people to be initiated [into Black Axe].”

Despite its current global reach, Interpol’s Jackal Operations have their origins in Ireland.
Following a series of police raids by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) in 2020, a handful of Black Axe members were arrested, paving the way for the exposure of a far wider network.
“They were very under the radar, very low-key,” said Michael Cryan, detective superintendent at the GNECB, which led the operation.

 

“The amount of money being laundered through Ireland was astronomical,” he added.
Interpol A collection of mobile phones seized by the policeInterpol
Interpol released a picture of mobile phones that were seized as part of a raid in South Africa
The police subsequently identified 1,000 people with links to Black Axe in Ireland and have made hundreds of arrests for fraud and cyber-crime.
“Bank robberies are now done with laptops – they’re far more sophisticated,” said Det Supt Cryan.
He estimates €200m ($220m; £170m) have been stolen online in Ireland in the past five years, and that only accounts for the 20% of cyber-crimes that are believed to be reported.

“This is not typical or ordinary crime… People who make decisions need to know how serious this is,” he said.

Irish police operations in November 2023 revealed that cryptocurrency – which can be sent rapidly between digital wallets around the world – is becoming an integral element in Black Axe’s money-laundering operations.

More than €1m in crypto-assets were seized during one operation.
Interpol has deployed its own new technology in an attempt to tackle these innovations, launching the Global Rapid Intervention of Payments system (I-GRIP).

The mechanism, which enables the authorities in member countries to freeze bank accounts around the world with unprecedented speed, was used to halt a $40m scam targeting a Singaporean business last month.
Interpol’s Mr Kaya said technology like this would make it harder for criminals to move money across borders with impunity.

A major effort is under way to gather and share intelligence on Black Axe and other West African syndicates by police around the world.

“If we can gather this data we can take action,” he said.

The rivalry between the Nigerian Black Axe and the Italian Mafia is complex, shaped by competition over criminal markets, territorial control, and differences in criminal methodologies. Here’s a detailed look at their rivalry:

1. Territorial Disputes

• Italy as a Battleground: Italy, particularly in the southern regions like Sicily, Naples, and Calabria, is traditionally Mafia territory. However, with the increasing migration of Nigerians to Italy, groups like the Black Axe have established a presence, particularly in urban centers and coastal areas. This has led to clashes over control of lucrative criminal markets such as drug trafficking, prostitution, and human trafficking.
• Conflicts and Collaboration: In some cases, the Italian Mafia and Nigerian groups have engaged in violent confrontations, especially over control of specific territories or criminal activities. However, there are also reports of occasional collaboration, where the Mafia might subcontract certain activities (like street-level drug distribution) to Nigerian groups, leveraging their manpower while maintaining control over larger operations.

2. Different Criminal Specializations

• Traditional vs. Cybercrime: The Italian Mafia has historically specialized in activities such as extortion, drug trafficking, and money laundering. Their operations are deeply rooted in local economies and often involve corruption at various levels of government and law enforcement.
• Cybercrime Dominance: The Black Axe, on the other hand, has rapidly expanded its reach through cybercrime. Their involvement in online fraud, including romance scams, phishing, and business email compromise (BEC) scams, has allowed them to generate significant revenue without the need for traditional territorial control. This difference in specialization means that while they compete in some areas (like drug trafficking), they also operate in distinct criminal arenas.

3. Impact on Local Communities

• Exploitation and Violence: Both the Italian Mafia and the Black Axe are known for their use of violence and exploitation. The Mafia’s extortion and control over local businesses have long been a source of fear in Italy. Similarly, the Black Axe is notorious for its brutal enforcement tactics, often targeting vulnerable Nigerian migrants for recruitment or exploitation in prostitution and human trafficking.
• Community Influence: The Mafia traditionally maintains a degree of influence within Italian communities, sometimes positioning themselves as protectors or providers in areas where the state’s presence is weak. The Black Axe, while feared, lacks the same level of entrenched local support, often being viewed as outsiders or predators, particularly in Italian communities.

4. Law Enforcement Response

• Crackdowns and Investigations: Law enforcement in Italy and other parts of Europe has increased pressure on both groups. There have been significant operations targeting Nigerian criminal groups, with arrests and deportations aimed at dismantling their networks. The Italian Mafia, while also under constant scrutiny, often benefits from deep-rooted connections within local institutions, making them harder to eradicate.
• International Collaboration: The transnational nature of the Black Axe’s cybercrime activities has necessitated international cooperation among law enforcement agencies, bringing a new dimension to efforts against organized crime. This global approach contrasts with the more localized, though still international, operations against the Italian Mafia.

5. Perception and Reputation

• Fear and Intimidation: Both groups are feared, but their reputations differ. The Mafia is often seen as a traditional, almost mythologized force with a long history in organized crime, while the Black Axe is viewed as a newer, more unpredictable threat, especially with their ties to brutal campus cults in Nigeria and their willingness to employ extreme violence.
• Cultural Clash: There’s also a cultural dimension to their rivalry. The Italian Mafia is deeply rooted in Italian culture and society, while the Black Axe is an external group, often seen as an invasive force by locals. This cultural clash exacerbates tensions and fuels conflicts between the two groups.

6. Global Implications

• Expanding Influence: As the Black Axe continues to expand its operations globally, its rivalry with the Mafia could extend beyond Italy into other regions where both groups operate, such as North America, the UK, and parts of Africa. The global nature of their activities means that this rivalry could influence organized crime dynamics in multiple countries.
• Evolution of Crime: The rivalry between these two groups is emblematic of the broader evolution of organized crime, where traditional crime syndicates face challenges from newer, more agile criminal networks that exploit technology and globalization.

The rivalry between the Nigerian Black Axe and the Italian Mafia is marked by territorial disputes, differences in criminal focus, and a clash of cultures. While both groups continue to exert significant influence in their respective areas of operation, the Black Axe’s rise, particularly in cybercrime, represents a growing challenge to the traditional dominance of the Italian Mafia. This rivalry is likely to continue evolving as both groups adapt to changing circumstances in the global criminal landscape.