Black Axe

Black Axe emblem. Photo: European Journalism Fund.

WATCH: BBC investigates Black Axe, the ‘deadliest gang’ in Nigeria – members were arrested in SA

Alleged Black Axe members were recently arrested in South Africa on charges related to financial scams – which is reportedly the murderous gang’s main source of revenue.

Black Axe

Black Axe emblem. Photo: European Journalism Fund.

Nine alleged members of the Nigerian mafia-style gang Black Axe (referred to as a cult in its home country) have been arrested in South Africa this year.

In October, a multidisciplinary team arrested six of the gang’s alleged Cape Town leaders along with two more members.

In the first week of December, another suspect linked to the group was arrested by Interpol in Douglasdale, Johannesburg.

SA BLACK AXE ARRESTS

The suspects arrested in South Africa are linked to an alleged lucrative internet romance scam operation that targets lovelorn people and bleeds them dry.

“All suspects were arrested during a large-scale operation in the early morning hours of today and will be charged with a variety of financial crimes, including conspiracy to commit wire/mail fraud/mail and money laundering. The suspects in this investigation are alleged to have ties to a transnational organized crime syndicate originating in Nigeria,” said Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale in October.

‘AYE AXEMEN’

According to BBC Africa Eye, whose two-year investigation into the criminal enterprise culminated in a riveting documentary that was released on YouTube this week, the group’s primary source of revenue is internet fraud.

Back home, however, Black Axe is known as one of the most murderous and ruthless gangs in Nigeria.

Over the last decade, the gang influence has spread across the world and it is now considered one of the most dangerous criminal organisations in the world with a presence in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America.

The Black Axe was formed at the University of Benin in Benin City, Nigeria approximately 40 years ago.

The gang is an offshoot of a student fraternity called the Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM), which was reportedly inspired by the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. The group’s goal was to fight oppression.

The NBM still exists as a legal company that claims to have millions of members around the globe. The NBM does its utmost to distance itself from Black Axe which it describes as a breakaway group.

“NBM is not Black Axe. NBM has nothing to do with criminality. NBM is an organisation that tends to promote greatness in the world,” said NBM President Olorogun Ese Kakor to the BBC in July 2021.

WATCH: